Congressman Tom Emmer, a cryptocurrency supporter, criticized US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler for his approach to cryptocurrency regulation, labeling him a “bad faith regulator.” “.
great interview of @laurashin with @GOPMajorityWhip! Congress is working on their districts this week and next, but expect the last 2 weeks of April to be VERY busy for crypto policy as legislation and regulatory oversight ramp up. stay tuned https://t.co/ZSsTFJ9pt7
—Ron Hammond (@RonwHammond) April 7, 2023
During an April 7 appearance on the Unchained podcast hosted by author and crypto-journalist Laura Shin, Emmer did not mince words when she said: disputed Gensler’s supervision in the crypto sector:
“This guy, in my opinion, is a regulator in bad faith. He has been blindly spraying the crypto community with enforcement stock while he completely misses the really bad actors.”
Emmer pointed to the example of Coinbase, which prior to receiving a Wells Notice from the SEC in March, was actively seeking to work with the agency by getting feedback on staking product compliance, among other things.
“Gary Gensler might have an open door, but it’s a door at your own risk, because what it does is, despite several meetings over several months, Gary Gensler’s SEC refused to provide comment,” he said, and I add. that:
“And instead, after all these meetings and nothing happening, the SEC sent Coinbase a Wells Notice on the very issues Coinbase was asking their opinion on.”
Since Gensler took over the SEC in April 2021, he has repeatedly suggested that the agency has a friendly “open door policy” and has called on crypto firms to register with the SEC to maintain securities law compliance. .
This is mainly due to his opinion that almost all crypto assets apart from Bitcoin (BTC) are classified as securities and therefore the sector should be mainly regulated by the SEC.
Related: US Lawmaker Accuses FDIC of Using Bank Instability to Attack Crypto
Despite this, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has highlighted the difficulty of dealing with the SEC on several occasions, while other figures such as Kraken CEO Jesse Powell have echoed similar sentiments.
A major issue raised by many in the crypto community is the apparent “regulation by enforcement” approach focused on the fight against cryptocurrencies emerging from the SEC and the US government in general.
Commenting on this, Emmer ultimately stated:
“Clearly this is not the way the government should serve the American people, and I think it sends a clear message to the broader crypto community, and that is straight up ‘Gary Gensler is not regulating in good faith.’”
And if not, why does our government control one of the few 24/7 private sector money rails that supported the digital economy?
— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) March 29, 2023
