Amid Ripple XRP, Coinbase wrangles, Gary Gensler flexes SEC muscle

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler Friday reiterated the agency’s attempt to bring cryptocurrency exchanges under oversight and “register where appropriate as securities.”

See related article: US crypto bill leaves ‘open question’ on securities: Tessler

Fast facts

• “I’ve asked our staff to work directly with the platforms to get them registered and regulated to ensure that those crypto tokens come in as well and register where appropriate as securities,” Gensler said in a video on his verified Twitter account on Friday.
• He called for the same protections in the crypto markets as the stock market and “not risk undermining 90 years of securities law.”

• “There’s no reason to treat the crypto market differently just because a different technology is used,” Gensler said. “That would be like saying drivers of electric cars don’t need seat belts because they don’t use gas.” 

• Gensler’s comments come amid a reported delay in the vote on a proposed bipartisan bill that would bring crypto under the primary oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) rather than SEC.

• “The CFTC should use all means available to fulfil its statutory mandate to vigorously enforce the law and uphold the Commodity Exchange Act,” given public interest and open questions on the legal statuses of various digital assets, CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham said about the SEC’s contention that dozens of digital assets are securities.

• “The CFTC should use all means available to fulfill its statutory mandate to vigorously enforce the law and uphold the Commodity Exchange Act,” Commissioner Pham said. “This responsibility has been entrusted to us by the Congress and the American people. The CFTC must not break that trust, and we must remember whom we serve.”

See related article: SEC fails to block XRP holders from aiding in Ripple case