Gary Gensler’s tenure as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been controversial, to put it mildly. Looking at more traditional assets, Gensler and the SEC have made significant strides in investor protection, improving market transparency, and executing key reforms in equity and treasury markets.
In contrast, his hardline approach to the budding cryptocurrency industry, which many hold to be unjustifiably heavy-handed and litigious, is a common point of criticism.
Many argue that Gensler’s stances have stifled innovation and driven key players in the space overseas. The chairman’s reliance on existing securities laws is another point of contention, with critics claiming that proposing new rules for the emerging sector would have gone a long way in reducing regulatory uncertainty.
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On January 20, Gensler will depart the commission — Paul Atkins, who had previously served in the role of chairman in the administration of George W. Bush, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump as his successor.
As the crypto community prepares to bid farewell to the soon-to-be former chairman, CNBC’s Squawk Box conducted an exit interview — one which recapitulated Gensler’s tenure — highs, lows, and everything in between.
Gensler and the cryptocurrency market — needless obstruction or failure to prevent a bubble?
The interview, conducted by Joe Kernen, Rebecca Quick, and Andrew Ross Sorkin, didn’t shy away from the more controversial parts of Gensler’s tenure.
Gensler denied that his arguably heavy-handed stance contributed to Trump’s victory in the election, highlighting that his predecessor, Jay Clayton, had also brought about 80 cases over his tenure during Trump’s first presidency.
By far the most scathing part of the interview was conducted by Kernen, who opined that:
At $95,000, if this is ephemeral and built on air and a beanie baby, there’s going to be an absolute bloodbath. So either you stood in the way of a totally new industry, or you were unable to prevent a huge bubble from forming, which is going to end very badly, and neither one is going to be much of a legacy to look back on.
Interestingly enough, Gensler conceded that Bitcoin (BTC) is here to stay. While the chairman referred to it as a highly speculative asset, he added that ‘7 billion people want to trade it’, before pivoting to criticize other digital assets, stating that ‘These other thousands of projects need to show their use cases and show that they actually have fundamentals underlying them or they won’t persist.’
Following that part of the exchange, Kernen ‘accused’ Gensler of owning Bitcoin — which the chairman vehemently denied.
Lastly, Gensler acknowledged the criticism levied against him but maintained that the SEC’s actions were aimed at protecting investors and the integrity of the market.
Featured image via Shutterstock
