The United States SEC Chair Gary Gensler took to The Wall Street Journal’s op-ed pages to reiterate the SEC’s stance on cryptocurrency. He cleared that SEC treated cryptocurrency and other forms of digital assets as the rest of the capital markets. So, all the securities laws still apply to these new technologies including crypto.
This statement has come in the wake of prominent crypto companies Voyager and Celsius filing for bankruptcy and frustrated some people in the crypto industry.
In The Wall Street Journal’s op-ed pages, Gary Gensler compared crypto lending platforms with car manufacturers. He asserted that whether it is an investment vehicle or a motor vehicle, both investors and consumers deserve equal protection.
He further stated and we quote, “Make no mistake: If a lending platform is offering securities, it falls into SEC jurisdiction.”
He further added, “I encourage platforms offering crypto lending to come in and talk to SEC staff. Getting these platforms into compliance with the securities laws will benefit investors and the crypto market. In the meantime, the SEC will serve as the cop on the beat. As with seat belts in cars, we need to ensure that investor protections come standard in the crypto market.”
However, People in the industry who were looking for more clarity from the SEC were left disappointed that asked for “stronger guidelines not repetitions of familiar arguments.”
Unfortunately, Gensler’s op-ed could not manage to provide any new or more solid information to individuals in the crypto industry. It is quite clear that crypto platforms are left to work in the dark until better and stricter guidelines come into force.
