The SEC will begin implementing a robust regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry, in order to minimize risks and ensure investor protection, said its president Gary Genser.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) needs to protect investors, Gary Gensler, current president of the financial regulator, said during a interview on Bloomberg TV. His statements during the interview were directed at the manufacturing industry. cryptocurrencies, and digital assets, whose growth in the last year attracted millions of investors from all over the world.
Gensler, who served as professor of Bitcoin y Blockchain at MIT, reported that his sympathy with crypto assets will not be an interference in his duties as a regulator, making it clear that a more solid regulatory framework is coming for this growing industry in the country. In fact, Gensler told Bloomberg that while he has a neutral approach to technology, and confirmed that he spent 3 years teaching about it at MIT, his regulatory approach to this industry will be in line with the objectives and vision of the SEC, which It is the protection of American investors and consumers.
“While I am neutral on technology… I am not neutral on investor protection”He said.
For Gensler, contrary to what many thought when he was appointed president of the SEC, the cryptocurrency industry can bring with it many risks, so a hands-off regulatory approach by the SEC, or extremely friendly to said industry, It is practically impossible.
Gary Gensler came to the SEC in April, when the US Senate confirmed his appointment as chairman of the regulator. At that time, the crypto community revived its hopes of seeing a Bitcoin ETF on US soil, although for now, Gensler has not mentioned it in any of his interventions and has decided to delay the applications submitted by several companies in the industry.
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More regulation for cryptocurrencies
Gary Gensler wants to establish greater regulation on cryptocurrencies, a market that to date contains more than 1,56 trillions of dollars in capitalization and which has shown great volatility in recent months.
In the United States, the growth of the crypto industry has been quite explosive. The market analysis company Gallup points out that about 13% of the American adult population already invest in bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, while the country is becoming one of the preferred destinations for bitcoin miners who are being displaced by China's strict policies. Also, Crypto Head considers the United States to be the country better prepared around the world to face the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, both in terms of infrastructure and in legal terms, with various legislations that allow the ownership of cryptoassets to citizens and the participation of banks and financial institutions within this powerful industry.
However, despite all this, it is worth clarifying that the United States does not have a clear regulatory framework applicable to cryptocurrencies, and many of its regulators and influential politicians maintain a fragmented opinion until now.
In the case of Gary Gensler, the crypto community and investors had been trying to guess what the regulator's position is regarding cryptoasset innovation, without having much success so far. However, regulation for cryptocurrencies does not mean that the development of this industry will be stifled.
Gensler believes that Bitcoin, the creation of Satoshi Nakamoto, is an invention with real value that is moving billions of dollars in the market. Furthermore, the SEC chairman has also said that cryptocurrencies are a “catalyst for change.”
Gensler and DeFi
One of the biggest innovations in the cryptocurrency industry is the so-called decentralized finance or DeFi, which are revolutionizing the way financial services are provided. Although to a person with Gensler's knowledge, DeFi should be nothing more than one of the most revolutionary and important financial ecosystems of all time, the regulator has said that this sector of the crypto industry is plagued with novel, highly volatile and speculative.
Gensler sees DeFi as new challenges for the SEC and US financial regulators, as well as great risks for investors and consumers.
Cryptocurrency exchange platforms and private cryptocurrencies such as stablecoins They are also present in Gensler's regulatory plans, which states that regulating all areas of the crypto industry will facilitate the protection of the parties involved within it and generalize the use of cryptocurrencies.
Regulators and cryptocurrencies
Other US regulators, such as Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen and Acting Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Michael Hsu, also believe it is time to prioritize crypto regulation to minimize potential risks and tax evasion.
Hsu recently said that the OCC will be reviewing the cryptocurrency custody initiative that the office approved during the previous Brian Brooks administration. For Hsu, some of the decisions and initiatives that were made with Brooks in charge of the OCC, related to cryptocurrencies, were not made in coordination with all interested parties.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a well-known bitcoin skeptic, recently stated that the United States must act to address the growth of cryptocurrencies before it is too late.
On the other hand, Senator Cynthia Lummis, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy advocate for appropriate regulation for the healthy development of the crypto industry, so that the United States continues to be world leader in innovation and technological development.
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