Cryptocurrencies Should Be Treated, Regulated as Securities, Gensler Says
Cryptocurrencies are securities and should be regulated as such, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said on CNBC’s Squawk Box Wednesday.
SEC Chair statement comes amidst global demand for regulation of the digital currency assets and crackdowns in some European and Asian countries including the United States.
Despite pressures from all angles, cryptocurrencies adoption level has been on the rise though there have been bumps, investors have largely remained focused.
“If somebody is raising money [by] selling a token and the buyer is … anticipating profit … based on the efforts of that group to sponsor the seller that fits into something that’s a security,” Gensler said.
“My predecessor Jay Clayton … said it best about three years ago that he really hadn’t seen many tokens that didn’t meet that securities test.”
Gensler said he advocates for regulating cryptocurrencies as securities because Bitcoin and “hundreds” of other cryptos being trading are essentially an asset class.
“What we want to do is provide some of the basic protections against fraud and manipulation,” he said. The lack of regulation is “not good for investors and [not] good for the technology
In a related development, Victory Capital files for Securities and Exchange Commission Approval of Cryptocurrency Index Fund
Asset manager Victory Capital on Wednesday filed a request with the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking approval of its Victory Hashdex NASDAQ Crypto Index Fund.
Read Also: Bitcoin Swings as EU Plans Rules for Crypto Transfer Transparency
The crypto index fund, if approved, would invest in cryptocurrencies with the goal of mimicking the performance of the Nasdaq Crypto Index. The Nasdaq Crypto Index includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Chainlink, Bitcoin Cash, Uniswap, Stellar Lumens and Filecoin.
The approved fund would be available to US accredited investors.
Cryptocurrencies Should Be Treated, Regulated as Securities, Gensler Says
