Despite recent setbacks in court battles, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler remains steadfast in his belief that cryptocurrencies should fall under the SEC’s regulatory purview. He expressed this stance during a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
Over the past two months, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has suffered legal losses in cases involving Grayscale and Ripple. However, Chairman Gary Gensler, undeterred by these setbacks, continues to argue that cryptocurrencies must adhere to laws similar to those governing securities and be subject to SEC oversight.
“With widespread non-compliance with securities laws in the industry, it’s no surprise that we see many issues in the cryptocurrency market. We’ve seen this story before. It harkens back to what we went through in the 1920s before federal securities laws were enacted. So, we’ve taken enforcement actions—some have been settled, and some are in litigation—to hold wrongdoers accountable and promote investor protection,” Chairman Gensler stated.
The hearing in the Senate will examine SEC oversight and its role in certain specific issues.
In the House of Representatives, five related bills have been cleared by committees and are set for a full vote. Meanwhile, in the Senate, 18 cryptocurrency-related bills were introduced in this session, but none have passed out of committee.
However, there are bipartisan efforts progressing in the Senate, including some bills reintroduced during this session after failing to advance in the previous one.