SEC President Gary Gensler says the SEC does not have a plan to ban cryptocurrencies as China did. He noted that it is up to Congress to make such a decision. Recently, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell similarly said that the Fed has no intention of banning or restricting the use of cryptocurrencies.
SEC will not ban cryptocurrency
The Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, answered a question about whether there is a plan to ban cryptocurrency during a hearing before the US House Committee on Financial Services on Tuesday.
The four-hour virtual hearing, titled “SEC Oversight: Wall Street Cop Is Finally Back on Top,” hosted SEC Chair Maxine Waters and ratings member Patrick McHenry.
During the meeting, Representative Ted Budd of North Carolina asked Gensler if he had any plans to ban cryptocurrency. The congressman began by saying, “China has been on the path of a war against cryptocurrencies, apparently since 2013. We’ve seen them impose a ban on mining, ICOs. [ICOs], cryptocurrency exchanges, and their latest move, a total ban on cryptocurrencies themselves.”
The congressman asked Budd, “Chairman, do you support what China did, and is the Securities and Exchange Commission planning to implement a similar ban?”
Gensler replied:
I am aware of a number of things you mentioned regarding the People’s Republic of China. I think our approach is completely different.
“It’s a question of how to bring this area into our investor and consumer protections, as well as working with bank regulators and others,” the SEC chairman continued. He also stressed the need to ensure that the Treasury has crypto within its anti-money laundering (AML) and tax compliance laws, adding that there is also a “financial stability issue that stablecoins can raise.”
Since Gensler has not responded directly to any plans to ban cryptocurrency, Representative Budd reiterated his question: “But isn’t there a ban that you would like to implement via the SEC like China did, to really guide everyone with their own digital currency?”
The President of the Supreme Education Council replied:
No, that would go back to Congress.
“We worked with the authority you gave us,” Gensler explained. He added that many tokens do not undergo tests for being a security, stressing that it is important to “place them within the SEC’s investor protection jurisdiction.”
newly. Representative Budd also asked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if the Fed has any plans to ban cryptocurrency. Likewise, Powell said there is no intention to ban or restrict the use of cryptocurrencies.
What do you think of Gary Gensler’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below.
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