The Securities and Exchange Commission aka SEC of the United States recently welcomed its new chairman, Gary Gensler while bidding adieu to Jay Clayton. Speaking before the House Financial Services Committee for the first time, Gensler pointed out what Congress had to look into regulating the crypto industry.
The SEC has been making a lot of news, particularly over the last couple of months following its squabble with Ripple. While several regulators across the globe announced that XRP was not a security, the SEC was assertive about its stance on categorizing the altcoin as security. Additionally, with zero Bitcoin ETFs in America, the crypto community exerted utmost distress with the financial regulator. However, with the appointment of Gensler, the community was given the hope of better regulations with regard to the crypto-verse.
SEC’s Gary Gensler Intends To Uphold Investor Protection
The lack of regulatory clarity in the US has been pointed out by many. The recent hearing was focused on GameStop’s activities which further led to Rep. Patrick McHenry asking the Chairman about the regulatory environment of the cryptocurrency industry.
The latest Chairman of the financial regulator, however, urged Congress to regulate the crypto industry in his latest speech. But, Gensler was inclined towards “investor protection.” He added,
“It’d be good to consider whether to bring investor protection to the crypto exchanges. And I think if that were the case, because right now the exchanges’ trading in these crypto-assets do not have a regulatory framework, either at the SEC or our sister agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that could instill greater confidence.”
Speaking at a virtual hearing, Gensler noted that there wasn’t any notable regulation surrounding cryptocurrency exchanges that facilitate the trading of crypto. This further meant that those interested in the buying and selling of crypto were prone to fraud or manipulation. However, the right kind of protection could limit the chances of users enduring any prominent losses.