The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair, Gary Gensler, has stated that the process of launching the first spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States is proceeding smoothly
During a Bloomberg conference on June 25, Gensler declined to provide an answer regarding the ETFs’ launch date and refused to confirm whether they would be operational before the November U.S. elections.
“The primary concern is that asset managers must provide comprehensive disclosure for the registration statements to be effective,” he stated.
“The registration or disclosure statements are currently in our possession, and they are prepared at the staff level,” Gensler explained. “Once more, these disclosures are of paramount importance.” They are crucial to investors who are making investment decisions.
On May 23, the SEC approved 19b-4 filings from eight ETF bidders. However, the asset managers are still refining their Form S-1s, the final filings the SEC must approve before the ETFs can be traded.
As soon as the first week of July, confident analysts predicted that the SEC could authorize funds trading.
“Securities laws are not inconsistent.”
The U.S. crypto industry has raised millions and lobbied to make digital assets an election issue in response to a deluge of enforcement actions from the Gensler-led SEC.
According to billionaire investor Mark Cuban, Gensler could “literally cost Joe Biden the election,” and presidential candidate Donald Trump declared that he would terminate President Joe Biden’s “war on crypto.”
When pressed about the comments made by Trump and Cuban, Gensler responded that he does not comment on elections.
“We have a set of regulations that are quite explicit.”
He further stated that there is no contradiction between the securities laws and crypto securities. Regrettably, numerous individuals violate the law.
Gensler asserted that up to 20,000 crypto tokens are investment contracts or securities under U.S. law and do not provide American investors with “proper disclosure.”
“This is a field in which the leading lights from a few years ago are either in jail, on the brink of being arrested, or awaiting extradition,” he stated.
“We are presenting that to the courts, and it will be resolved because individuals who are not adhering to the law are causing harm to the American public,” he continued.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse dismissed Gensler’s remarks regarding X as “absolute nonsense,” asserting that the SEC chief “completely overlooked FTX.” Additionally, he stated:
“Gensler will result in Biden’s electoral defeat.”
