Gensler Supports CFTC as Bitcoin, Ethereum Regulator

Gary Gensler approves of the notion that CFTC will regulate cryptocurrencies deemed as commodities.
So far, only Bitcoin and Ethereum are recognized by the commission as commodities.
SEC has filed a lawsuit against 200 persons and companies who dabbled in cryptocurrencies.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler expressed his support for the transfer of oversight for Bitcoin and Ethereum — cryptocurrencies that the watchdog considers commodities and not securities.

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Gensler believes that these two leading crypto assets can now be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). According to an article by the Wall Street Journal, Gensler said that he is rather “looking forward” to working with the US Congress to make this happen.

However, Gensler made it clear that he is willing to cooperate as long as the SEC will have lessened power as a result. He said:

“Let’s ensure that we don’t inadvertently undermine securities laws underlying $100 trillion capital markets. The securities laws have made our capital markets the envy of the world.”

Gensler made the above comments in response to a request by CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam to the Congress to enable his office to regulate some cryptocurrencies that the country recognizes as commodities and not securities.

So far, the SEC has named only Bitcoin and Ethereum as the two cryptocurrencies that are not securities. In fact, the SEC is in a legal battle with at least 200 US-based cryptocurrency companies. These include Ripple, the issuer of XRP, Unikrn, a Seattle-headquartered gambling site, and LBRY, a file-sharing platform.

These lawsuits allege that these mentioned companies have issued crypto coins or tokens deemed securities. However, the SEC accuses that these firms did not register the sale of these ‘securities’ with the said regulator.

Gensler was also the CFTC Chief from 2009 until 2014. However, the SEC filed the lawsuit against Ripple before Gensler assumed the SEC chief role.

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Jesus Dawal

Jesus Dawal Jr covers news related to the crypto space in Asia and in Australia, although he follows the latest events in the US and Europe as well. He is most interested in the blockchain gaming and regulation aspects of the industry.