Gary Gensler, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stated in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box yesterday that while cryptocurrencies are only a small part of the SEC’s regulatory scope, they represent the market with the highest proportion of scams, frauds, and other issues. Most aspects of this field do not meet the requirements for protection under securities law.
When asked about the recent action taken by the SEC against Robinhood, host Andrew Ross Sorkin inquired about the issuance of Wells Notices. Gary Gensler explained that in the field of crypto assets, many tokens are considered securities under U.S. law, according to interpretations by the Supreme Court. The SEC’s responsibility is to abide by the law, and investors have not received the necessary disclosures regarding these crypto assets.
Following this, the host further pressed Gary Gensler on the question he has been avoiding: “Is Ether a commodity or a security? Is there a chance for an ETF to be issued?”
However, Gary Gensler still did not provide a direct response to this question. Even when the host later mentioned criticism from members of Congress regarding Gensler’s refusal to answer questions about the classification of Ether and the possibility of an Ether ETF, in an attempt to prompt a response, the reply received was still bureaucratic and did not directly address the questions.
