U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler stated that bitcoin is a commodity. He emphasized that the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and banking regulators will work together to oversee the crypto sector.
Gary Gensler: Bitcoin is a Commodity
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler clarified his position on cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, in an interview with Mad Money host Jim Cramer on CNBC on Monday.
“This is a very speculative asset class. We have known this for a long time,” Gensler said when asked about cryptocurrencies. Citing “the ups and downs of this speculative asset class,” he explained that when people invest in “Bitcoin and hundreds of other crypto tokens,” they expect a return, “just like when you invest in other financial assets” that are securities.
Chairman Gensler emphasized that many of these “crypto financial assets” have “the key attributes of securities.” He added that “some of them are …… under the Securities and Exchange Commission,” he stated. In response, he quoted “what his predecessor and others have said,” stating.
Some, like Bitcoin, I will only say this: …… commodities.
The SEC Commissioner noted that besidesBTCHe does not intend to specifically discuss other crypto tokens.
Gensler’s statement is consistent with Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam, who stated last month that bitcoin (BTC) is a commodity. However, Behnam further stated that ether (ETH) is also a commodity.
Bitcoin supporters welcome Gensler’s clarification. Digital Asset Manager Eric Weiss tweeted, ” Gensler is the second consecutive SEC chairman to declare that bitcoin is a commodity, making it almost impossible for this classification to be changed in the future. It’s really important.”
Pro-Bitcoin CEO Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy opined.” Bitcoin is a commodity, which is essential to any treasury reserve asset. This allows politicians, institutions, governments, and agencies to support bitcoin as a technology and digital asset to grow the economy and extend property rights and freedoms to all.” The Nasdaq-listed software company has 129,218 bitcoins stashed in its corporate treasury.
SEC, CFTC, and banking regulators cooperate on crypto
Gensler continued to comment on the SEC’s cooperation with other federal regulators to oversee the crypto sector, including the CFTC and banking regulators. He emphasized that many crypto tokens are currently trying to operate in a non-compliant manner.
The SEC chief then referred to stablecoins, noting.
There is work to be done there around stablecoins …… There is a lot of work to be done to really protect investors.
Last week, Gensler proposed “one rulebook” for the regulation of the crypto sector.
In an interview on Monday, Cramer discussed Fidelity Investments’ decision to allow bitcoin as a 401(k) plan option – a decision that has been troubling the Labor Department. The Mad Money host asserted that he feels “very comfortable with the asset that is bitcoin.” He asked Gensler if “we are too comfortable” with Bitcoin.
“There are a lot of risks in crypto” and “a lot of risks in the classical securities market as well,” Gensler replied, elaborating.
In the United States… We have market regulators like the CFTC and the SEC that help protect the public from fraud and manipulation in the markets.
Gensler noted that there must be “full and fair disclosure” when a group of entrepreneurs is selling something to the public, and added that there are currently thousands of crypto tokens that do not comply with the law. The Chairman emphasized. ‘That’s the SEC’s job. That’s the SEC’s job, and that’s what we do really well,” he stressed.
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