Speaking at the 56th annual meeting of the securities regulator, Gary Gensler said that by the time he took over as head of the SEC, the agency, chaired by Jay Clayton, had already filed about 80 lawsuits against crypto companies, including Ripple. Gensler clarified that since 2018, litigation with participants in the crypto space has accounted for only 5-7% of the SEC’s overall efforts to enforce securities laws. Gensler emphasized that not all assets are considered securities, and Bitcoin is one of them.
“Our attention is focused on just a few of the 10,000 digital assets that were offered and traded as unregistered securities. And many courts agree with us. Beyond Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins, the rest of the crypto market is valued at $600 billion. That’s less than 20% of the entire cryptocurrency market and less than a quarter of a percent of the global capital market,” Gensler said.
The official again called on crypto companies, broker-dealers, exchanges and clearing agencies that trade securities to undergo mandatory registration with the department. This is necessary for disclosure of information and transparent conduct of business.
“Aside from market speculation and possible use for illicit purposes, the vast majority of cryptoassets have no sustainable use cases. Since the 1930s, we have seen that compliance with securities laws protects investors and enhances confidence in the capital markets. This has been confirmed by history for 90 years,” concluded Gensler.
He recalled that before his arrival at the SEC, the regulator constantly rejected applications to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to cryptocurrencies. However, during Gensler’s chairmanship, the SEC approved the first Bitcoin futures ETF in 2021. Earlier this year, the agency allowed the launch of spot ETFs for Bitcoin and then for Ethereum, giving investors indirect access to cryptocurrencies.
According to a study conducted by the Blockchain Association and HarrisX, since Gary Gensler took over as chairman of the US SEC, American companies working with cryptocurrencies have spent more than $400 million on litigation with the agency.
Source: Bits
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