U.S. Securities and Exchange Chairman Gary Gensler’s light-hearted Halloween remark about Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, garnered sharp criticism from Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s top layer. Alderoty slammed his nemesis for making “a bad Halloween joke.”
Ripple’s legal head takes a jab at Gensler
To commemorate the 15th anniversary of Satoshi Nakamoto’s influential white paper, Gensler posted a tweet musing whether anyone would recognize the elusive Bitcoin crated it he or she decided to appear as himself or herself for Halloween.
He also sent a cautionary message to crypto firms, urging those “tricking investors” to comply with securities laws.
In a swift retort, Alderoty criticized Gensler. He pointed to the fact the SEC chairman is making jests on social media while his agency is allegedly bypassing Congress for certain regulatory actions.
The lawyer pointed to the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s post regarding the agency’s adherence to the Congressional Review Act for a specific accounting bulletin.
Is Gensler hinting at Bitcoin ETF approval?
Another angle to Gensler’s tweet has industry experts speculating about its deeper implications. Elliot Johnson, CIO and COO of Evolve ETFs, wondered if Gensler’s tweet hinted at forthcoming approvals for Bitcoin ETFs.
Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst, weighed in, stating there’s “no read on this from us,” and attributed Gensler’s remark to “regulatory humor.” Yet, he noted the significance of the SEC chairman having cryptocurrency topics at the forefront of his mind.
