One of crypto's most powerful government foes believes journalists ask him far more than necessary about the booming asset class.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler appeared for a nine-minute interview with CNBC on Wednesday and criticized the host for asking for an “inordinate ratio” of crypto-focused questions.
Gensler is tired of crypto questions
Gensler's interviewer, Andrew Ross Sorkin, suggested that journalists' attention to the industry may be proportional to the SEC's attention to the space. The president disagreed.
“No, it depends where your attention is,” Gensler replied. “I’ve been on your show – a dozen times – and on every show you ask questions about crypto.”
Gensler pointed out that crypto – which currently boasts a market cap of $2.3 trillion – is just a drop in the bucket compared to the $110 trillion capital markets made up of stocks. and traditional obligations.
Relative to its size, he said crypto accounts for “an outsized share of the scams, frauds and glitches” in the market, which may also help explain journalists' narrow focus on the space.
“I'm guessing it's going to be a majority crypto talk, when the capital markets are $110 trillion,” Gensler said. “So it’s also about what the financial media is focusing on.
Sorkin indeed asked more about crypto – including whether the SEC considers Ether (ETH) to be a security, and the agency's latest Wells Notice issued against crypto and stock trading platform Robinhood for alleged violations of securities law. Gensler's responses were indirect, as usual, while emphasizing that “many” crypto tokens are securities within the meaning of the law.
The SEC's Clear Focus on Crypto
Over the past 18 months, the SEC has filed several lawsuits and Wells notices against the world's largest crypto companies with ties to the United States.
These include crypto exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and Robinhood, alongside development teams like Uniswap Labs and stablecoin issuers like Paxos.
In 2023 alone, the SEC initiated 43 enforcement actions against digital asset market participants, according to Fondamental research. The large number of actions has inspired other crypto companies – such as Consensys – to preemptively sue the SEC before being accused of violating what is still a legal gray area.
“We don't say if someone, in our opinion, is not following the law unless we file a complaint,” Gensler said.
“Many people have lost their hard-earned funds in this area that seems to fascinate you so much,” he added.
Gensler has not refrained from giving his opinions on crypto in his capacity – even in his role as president.
Following his agency's approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs in January, Gensler published an unusual blog post claiming that the agency still did not approve Bitcoin as an asset. Speaking to CNBC the next day, he also argued that Bitcoin is fundamentally centralized.
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