- Gary Gensler warned crypto companies from “misleading investors” to comply with securities laws.
- The post sparked sharp digs and some speculation.
On October 31, Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), posted a congratulatory message in which Bitcoin [BTC] completed 15 years, reminiscent of Satoshi Nakamoto’s famous white paper.
In the same breath, he warned crypto companies, which were apparently “fooling investors,” to comply with securities laws.
If Satoshi Nakamoto showed up as Satoshi Nakamoto for Halloween, would we know?
Congratulations on the 15th anniversary of Satoshi’s famous white paper that started crypto.
All crypto companies that are fooling investors need to start treating them with securities law compliance.
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) October 31, 2023
Gensler’s post was indicative of his longstanding position, according to which crypto assets can only operate in the US if they are classified as securities and subject to SEC regulation.
Just last week, Gensler had that named Satoshi’s iconic article in a speech criticizing the crypto industry as a country full of “fraud, scams, bankruptcies and money laundering.”
Ripple’s counsel is investigating Gensler
Gensler’s latest tweet provoked sharp reactions from several quarters.
Ripple [XRP] lead attorney Stuart Alderoty responded quickly. He said that while Gensler posted “bad Halloween jokes,” his agency is being condemned for not being accountable to Congress.
While Mr. Gensler makes bad Halloween jokes about It seems the SEC has become the lawless Wild West that Gensler likes to talk about. https://t.co/WTkyRhyrLy
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) October 31, 2023
Alderoty retweeted a recent message from the U.S. Government Accountability Office criticized the SEC’s decision not to submit a crypto-related bulletin report to Congress. The SEC has said in its defense that the bulletin is neither an agency action nor a binding agency statement.
During Gensler’s tenure, the SEC took action against several crypto companies such as Binance [BNB]Coin base [COIN] for allegedly violating US securities laws.
Gary Gensler’s critics in the industry are calling his policies towards crypto “regulation by enforcement.”
In recent months, the agency has partially lost lawsuits against Ripple and Grayscale.
There is plenty of speculation surrounding the approval of Bitcoin ETFs
Gensler’s tweet also led to speculation that the SEC was looking favorably at the applications of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Evolve ETFs CIO and COO Elliot Johnson speculated whether the SEC chairman’s tweet was “another sign” of impending approvals for Bitcoin ETFs.
I wonder if this is another sign of impending ETF approval? @JSeyff @EricBanchunas @Beiwatch1 @FossGregfoss https://t.co/11rfwv5dwp
— Elliot Johnson (@ElliotEvolveETF) October 31, 2023
On the other hand, Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, responded that he didn’t read much into the tweet. However, it was interesting that crypto is on the thoughts of the chairman of the securities regulator, he added.
I didn’t read this from us, just a bit of “regulatory humor”, although interesting that this is what he is thinking about
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 31, 2023
Gensler told Bloomberg last month that his agency was reviewing multiple Bitcoin ETF applications.
15 years since Satoshi’s Bitcoin whitepaper
Satoshi’s white paper was published 15 years ago, on October 31, 2008. It outlined the basic structure of the Bitcoin network, a financial network without centralized financial institutions or third parties.
The crypto market has come a long way since then. The market cap at the time of writing was $1.24 trillion.
Source: Crypto Market Cap, TradingView
Moreover, Bitcoin, the king coin, was trading at $34,340 at the time.
Source: BTC/USD, TradingView