Gensler Claims BTC, ETH Aren't Securities
Newly found video shows SEC Chair Gensler contradicting current stance on cryptocurrencies.
A recently unearthed 2018 video shows Gary Gensler, the current Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), asserting that many cryptocurrencies are not securities. This video has now become viral on social media.
The video is reportedly from a Bloomberg event for institutional investors, where Gensler, then an MIT professor, stated, “Over 70% of the crypto market is Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash. They’re not securities"
These remarks seem at odds with Gensler's recent stance at the SEC, where the commission has taken numerous enforcement actions against the crypto sector.
As SEC Chair, Gensler has implied that all cryptocurrencies, except Bitcoin, are securities. Yet, the SEC has classified only 68 cryptocurrencies as securities in different lawsuits, and none of the four mentioned in the 2018 video are on this list.
Gensler's statements also differ from his recent views on Ether. When asked whether ETH was a security at a U.S. House Committee meeting in April, he declined to answer, stating instead, "It's just a commodity, cash, crypto."
Gensler's seemingly contradictory positions have led some crypto industry participants to accuse him of hypocrisy. One legislator even introduced a bill aiming to remove Gensler from his post, alleging abuse of power.
