SEC Chairman Gary Gensler says crypto will not end well” if it stays outside the rules – regulation

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler says cryptocurrency “will not end well if it remains outside the regulatory space.” The SEC has been criticized for taking an enforcement-oriented approach to regulating the crypto industry.

The SEC Chairman Says Crypto Will Not End Well If It Stays Outside Regulations

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler spoke about cryptocurrency regulation during an interview with former federal prosecutor Preet Bharara at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on Monday.

He explained that the crypto sector in the US has many “trading venues and lending venues” with “not just dozens, but hundreds and sometimes thousands of tokens.” Noting that “people will get hurt” if cryptocurrency markets are allowed to operate outside the purview of regulators, the SEC Chairman warned:

This will not end well if it remains outside the regulatory space.

“To believe that a field that has grown 10-fold in the last 18 months – not just in asset value but in underlying lending and much more – will remain and thrive outside of this policy framework,” he continued. “We’re going to end up with a problem and a lot of people are going to get hurt.”

In August, Gensler said that the cryptocurrency field not reach if it tries to stay outside of SEC laws. Last week, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers also said that cryptocurrencies be better regulated instead of being treated like a libertarian paradise.

The SEC chairman said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing last week that a number of cryptocurrency platforms, including Nasdaq-listed Coinbase, have listed many tokens, insisting that some of them must be Securities. He added that the SEC needs more Manpower and funding to better regulate the crypto sector.

He said: "Currently we simply do not have enough investor protection in the areas of crypto financing, issuance, trading or lending," claiming that the crypto industry is "more like the Wild West or the old 'buyer beware' world that existed." before the securities laws were enacted.”

However, some people criticize the SEC for taking an enforcement-oriented approach to crypto regulation, including SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. Last week, Sen. Pat Toomey wrote letter to Gensler, asking for clarity on crypto regulation.

What do you think of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's comments on crypto? Let us know in the comments section below.

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