Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler is holding the line that he doesn't need legislation to police crypto, even as the White House and others say they're ready to hash out regulatory policies.
But U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler – the securities watchdog President Joe Biden hired as a member of his transition team and a key regulator – says don't bother. Gensler'sthat existing laws give his agency plenty of authority seems to go against other U.S. regulatory agencies, the White House and its Treasury Department.
Rep. French Hill said in a CoinDesk TV interview on Wednesday that many House Democrats"recognize that the existing Securities and Exchange Commission rules are inadequate." Hill added that FIT21 is trying to give Gensler's agency a roadmap for handling this sector. Consumer-protection groups seem to be in Gensler's corner on this, and Mark Hays, a senior policy analyst for Americans for Financial Reform and Demand Progress, dismissed the apparent contrasts among different corners of the federal government.
The federal courts – despite Gensler's contention that judges have agreed with his agency"time and again" on crypto matters – haven't yet provided consistent answers on whether tokens should be treated as securities, and the final say may still need to come from the U.S. Supreme Court.