Gensler, Chairman of the US Stock Exchange and Securities Commission, states that Bitcoin is a highly speculative commodity.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler shared his views on cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin, in an interview with Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s ‘Mad Money’ show, on Monday.
Expressing that they have been aware of the fact that cryptos are a highly speculative asset class for a long time, Gensler based his thesis on the fact that the reason people invest in cryptos and Bitcoin, like many other securities, is only for return.
In his speech, Gensler said; ‘Bitcoin and some coins like Bitcoin are clearly a commodity.’ said. Gensler agrees with Rostin Benham, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, about Bitcoin’s status. Contrary to Gensler, who expressed his opinion that Bitcoin is a commodity in Benham last month, he also included Ethereum in this class.
Some cryptocurrency communities, on the other hand, met with different reactions to the statements of Benham and Gensler. Digital asset manager Eric Weiss tweeted on June 27:
“Gensler, the second chairman of the commission declaring that Bitcoin is a commodity, these repeatedly declared ideas make it impossible to change the status of Bitcoin in the future, which really makes a lot of sense.”
He expressed his negative views.
On the other hand, Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy:
“Bitcoin is a necessary asset for any treasury reserve asset. This allows politicians, representatives, governments and institutions to support Bitcoin as a technology and digital asset to grow the economy and make property rights and freedom available to all.”
said.
SEC, CFTC and banking regulators collaborate in crypto market
After the statements that Bitcoin should have commodity status, Gensler also commented on the crypto regulatory efforts. He stated that many crypto tokens are not ready for regulation and are not making an effort.
Regarding stablecoins, he emphasized that there is a lot of work to be done to protect the investor.
Later in the interview, host Jim Cramer, Fidelity Investment’s Bitcoin 401k retirement plans He talked about the decision that allowed him to include it, and that annoyed the labor department. Expressing that Bitcoin as an asset makes people feel safe, the host asked Gensler, ‘Do you feel safe with Bitcoin?’ she asked. “Crypto is high-risk, much higher-risk assets than traditional securities,” Gensler said. said.
Stating that some cryptocurrencies are not transparent and descriptive enough to their investors during issuance, Gensler said, “Commissions such as SEC and CFTC exist in the USA to protect investors from possible manipulations and fraud in the market.” said.