US SEC Chairman Gensler Expresses Concerns Over Crypto Bill

In his latest statement, Gary Gensler, Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), referred to work being done on regulating crypto markets. Gensler expressed concerns that potential laws could negatively impact broader markets. Gensler, who was asked about a bill introduced last week by US Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand, claimed that legal changes targeting the cryptocurrency industry could have an impact on stock exchanges or investment funds. Gensler, who shared his views at The Wall Street Journal’s CFO Network Summit event, said that they had previously said that these markets needed to be regulated urgently, and that this discourse was still valid regarding the recent decline in cryptocurrency prices. Proponents state that Lummis-Gillibrand’s crypto bill was prepared with the aim of creating a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets. One of the prominent articles in the bill is the definition of cryptocurrencies. In this way, it will be clear which institutions can oversee crypto markets. On the other hand, it is said that the bill could remove the supervision of some cryptocurrencies from the SEC's jurisdiction. Commenting on this issue, Gensler said that they have no intention of expanding their jurisdiction, but that the tokens offered to the public have the feature of an investment contract and offer a certain return promise, which puts these assets in the securities class. Lummis-Gillibrand crypto bill offers broader jurisdiction to CFTC The Lummis-Gillibrand crypto bill proposes more comprehensive authority for the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam, who presented his views on the bill, said that the proposed legislation would be extremely useful to clarify the distinction between securities and non-securities in the crypto market. The CFTC Chairman expressed his welcome to the proposal to expand the CFTC's jurisdiction in the supervision of non-securities crypto assets.