The skeletons in SEC chairman Gary Gensler’s closet are back to haunt him. A clip dated to the fall of 2018 recorded by a student of the “Blockchain and Money” course whose professor was none other than our own Chairman Gensler is trending because of Gary’s point of view on crypto in 2018.
In all the notes and videos of the blockchain course, Gensler can be heard saying Ethereum is “Not a security” at MIT as a professor, which resurfaced online again. He is seen talking with students that Ethereum is sufficiently decentralized that will not consider it as a security.
After this video surfaced, the cryptocurrency community was outraged, believing that the chairman had abused his power and authority by using it to suppress crypto speculation. As a result, many individuals began calling for his resignation from the chairman position and started seeing him as a butcher of crypto innovations.
Earlier, U.S. Representative Warren Davidson introduced legislation to terminate Gary Gensler and restructure the SEC by citing the “long series of abuses”, including inappropriately providing a short comment period to crypto companies, unlawful ESG disclosure mandates on the market, and so on. Such an unlawful and anti-crypto stance has led many crypto firms to deport from outside the country.
In another event, Gary Gensler was slammed by Representative McHenry for not answering whether Ethereum, $ETH, is a commodity or a security. While two different federal agencies, CFTC and SEC, are juggling to implement securities laws on all crypto assets, bursting during Congress hearing clearly shows that they have no concrete evidence to support their arguments.
From the beginning, the SEC has been dubious about cryptocurrencies, repeatedly calling them securities. However, their habit of regulation by enforcement has been exposed with time. Before everything falls apart, the U.S. regulatory authority and government should leave their biased opinions and people like Gary Gensler behind to embrace crypto space.
Furthermore, XRP token holders may benefit from the revelations of Gensler’s past in the ongoing legal battle between the SEC and Ripple after his fumble at the Congress Committee Hearing. In 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple for allegedly selling unregistered XRP “securities”.
Also Read: SEC and Ripple Both File Motions for Summary Judgment
While there is no doubt that some level of regulation is necessary for the crypto industry, the methods employed by Gary Gensler and the SEC can be seen as nothing short of butchering the space. Their approach has caused significant harm to crypto investors and industries alike, with many feeling that their actions are overly aggressive and unnecessary. If the SEC continues down this path, it could have dire consequences for the future of crypto.
