SEC Gensler: Bitcoin not a Security

Gary Gensler reiterated the SEC’s stance on Bitcoin and continued criticizing the crypto industry for its pervasive noncompliance

Gary Gensler, the chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, stated to the hosts of Squawk Box on CNBC on Thursday, September 26, that Bitcoin is not a security.

This is not the first instance in which Gensler and the SEC have demonstrated regulatory acceptance for the foremost token in the crypto space. The $1.2 trillion asset has been referred to as a non-security commodity in SEC filings.

The agency has approved approximately ten spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and has embraced Bitcoin on American exchanges such as the Nasdaq under the leadership of Gensler.

The SEC has implemented a controversial strategy concerning the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, even though Ethereum exchange-traded funds were also approved similarly.

The SEC has initiated numerous investigations into Ethereum service providers such as Consensys and Uniswap and other crypto trading facilitators like Coinbase.

Additionally, the SEC and Gensler have declined to categorize Ethereum as a security or non-security while enforcing federal regulations on Ethereum ecosystem participants.

Gensler has been accused by U.S. policymakers, notably those in the House of Representatives, of using invented terms such as “crypto asset security” in significant litigations and spreading confusion within the digital asset industry.

During a Congressional hearing that all five SEC commissioners attended, Gensler was criticized for impeding blockchain innovation and fostering disarray in the crypto market earlier this week.

During the CNBC interview and the hearing, Gensler reiterated rhetoric that implied non-cnoncomplianceinadequate disclosures in the cryptocurrency sector.

He asserted that the industry has regulations; however, they have been disregarded by participants who have sought preferential treatment.

His testimony and statements directly contradict the statements made by Robinhood Markets’ principal attorney, Dan Gallagher.

Gallagher asserted at a separate hearing last week that the commission was mainly unresponsive to Robinhood’s registration attempts.

According to Gallagher, a former SEC employee, the agency staff either failed to respond entirely or delayed feedback in certain instances.

Commissioner Hester Peirce referenced comparable incidents at the regulator and concurred with Gallagher’s assertion that Congress should intervene to address the policy vacuum that the SEC’s deliberate inaction had established.