U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler is set to testify at a Congressional hearing on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, regarding the oversight of the SEC before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. In his pre-hearing testimony, the SEC Chair maintained his same old stance that investors in the crypto market deserve to get the protections of the US securities laws.
Gary Gensler Maintains Crypto Tokens As Securities Stance
In his testimony, the SEC official maintained that a majority of crypto tokens likely meet the investment contract test, which means they should be treated as securities. Surprisingly, Gensler is continuing to continue the securities law superimposition despite the SEC’s recent loss in the XRP lawsuit, in which the judge denied the agency’s argument that retail sale of tokens are securities transactions.
“Given that most crypto tokens are subject to the securities laws, it follows that most crypto intermediaries have to comply with securities laws as well. Given this industry’s wide-ranging non-compliance with the securities laws, it’s not surprising that we’ve seen many problems in these markets.”
The US Senate Committee’s full committee hearing on the Oversight of the U.S. SEC can be viewed live on the senate panel’s website. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if the crypto market, and especially the Bitcoin price would show any particular reaction to Gensler’s comments.
Enforcement Actions
In sharp contrast to the larger investor sentiment and the rising consensus among US lawmakers, Gensler had also noted that the agency introduced “A number of enforcement actions (against crypto businesses), some settled, and some in litigation, to hold wrongdoers accountable and promote investor protection.” Among the most notable ones in the recent times are the back to back lawsuits filed against two of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, Binance and Coinbase.
