Just-In: Gary Gensler Says a lot of crypto assets qualify as Security

Gary Gensler, the newly appointed chief of the US Security and Exchange Commission recently appeared on CNBC to talk about various aspects of his regulatory policies in the coming time including cryptocurrencies. During the interview, Gensler said that the current crypto market requires a regulatory overhaul especially considering a majority of the cryptocurrencies qualify as a security. Thus, the onus falls on the regulatory body to ensure investor protection.

“To the extent that something is a security, the SEC has a lot of authority. And a lot of crypto tokens — I wont call them cryptocurrencies for this moment — are indeed securities.”

He added,

“We need to update and freshen our rules to ensure that, while retail investors and any individual has first amendment rights to speak and so forth, that they’re not misleading the public, they’re not manipulating the public, manipulating the markets,”

Gensler who is seen as pro-crypto by many suggested that the crypto market despite the hype needs to adhere to the regulatory policies that ensure first and foremost investor protection. He also went on to call Bitcoin a “speculative” store of value.

Bitcoin and Ether are only two crypto assets that are not deemed as Security by the SEC, while most of the other assets are seen as security. The ongoing SEC vs Ripple case however may change the way SEC classify crypto assets s Security and non-security.

Gensler Says the US SEC Should be ‘Technology Neutral’

The new SEC chief went on to claim that even though there is a soaring demand for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the regulatory body must ensure that the market is well-regulated and remain technology-neutral. He also suggested that the new regulations should give the regulatory body some form of authority to oversee the crypto exchanges, similar to the equity and futures markets.

The recent comments from the new SEC chair sound cautious for the crypto exchanges and digital assets and indicate that the crypto market might be heavily regulated in the coming days.