Gary Gensler, Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), recently expressed his views on Bitcoin and other crypto assets in a discussion with the House Committee on Financial Services.
Gensler said the United States would not follow China’s lead in banning cryptocurrencies entirely. He added that any decision on banning cryptocurrency will be up to Congress. “Our approach is really quite different,” Gensler said in the last discussion.
We are already working with the authority that they (Congress) have given us. I’ve said this before, I believe that many of these tokens actually meet the test of being investment contracts, notes, or some other form of security,” the SEC chief added.
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The cryptocurrency market reacted positively to the recent comments of the head of the SEC. The total market value of digital assets has jumped by more than $80 billion in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin, the world’s largest crypto asset, crossed $51,500 yesterday. Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin also saw solid gains during the mentioned period.
Cryptocurrency banned in China
In a recent discussion, Gensler said that the US approach to crypto assets would be different from China’s because the country does not plan to impose a complete ban on digital assets. Earlier this year, China imposed a ban on all crypto-related activities in the country including mining. While the US cryptocurrency ecosystem remains uncertain about potential regulations in the region, overall adoption has increased sharply in the past few months.
US Senator Cynthia Loomis from Wyoming expressed optimism in August about the changes to the infrastructure bill and stated that the US crypto community would be pleased with the outcome. However, in an interview with CNBC in August 2021, Gensler described cryptocurrencies as a speculative asset. “Bitcoin and hundreds of other currencies traded by investors is a speculative asset class. The trading platforms they use are not currently subject to a regulatory regime that protects them like they trade on the New York Stock Exchange,” Gensler said in the interview.