January 13, 2025
#Blockchain

SEC Chairman on Stage Again for Crypto: What Did He Say About Altcoins?

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler made remarks regarding the cryptocurrency space on CNBC Squawk Box on Tuesday morning. Gensler was asked about the SEC’s recent move to send a Wells Notice against Robinhood Crypto. The interview also centered on whether Ethereum is a commodity or a security.

SEC Chairman: We are doing what the law says in the crypto space!

Cryptocoin.comThe US SEC has sent a Wells Notice to Robinhood Crypto. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler says investors did not receive vital disclosures after the agency distributed notices that it plans to bring enforcement actions against multiple crypto entities.

Gary Gensler responded to questions from the host on CNBC Squawk Box on Tuesday morning. Gensler was asked about the agency’s recent move by brokerage Robinhood Markets to file a Wells Notice against the cryptocurrency Robinhood Crypto. The exchange issued a statement on the matter on Monday. In that statement, it said SEC staff decided to recommend an enforcement action against the crypto exchange for alleged securities violations. Gensler said he could not speak about any specific company. In this context, Gensler underlined the following points:

If we step back without prejudging anyone (from the crypto assets space), most of these tokens are securities under the laws of the country, as interpreted by the US Supreme Court. So we are following that law and you, the investors, are not getting the necessary or needed disclosures about these assets.

Is Ethereum a security or a commodity?

Robinhood’s Wells Notice is one of a handful of filings against crypto assets in the past month. Consensys, the crypto firm behind MetaMask Wallet, and decentralized crypto exchange Uniswap also said they received Wells Notices from the SEC last month. The SEC is also battling crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase in court.

CNBC host Gary Gensler was also asked a question about Ethereum. The host wanted to know from the authority whether ETH is a security or a commodity. In this context, he asked how ETH would be classified. Gensler, who did not give a straight answer, gave the following explanation in a roundabout way:

All I can say is, to me, the fundamental question is how do we ensure that the American investor is protected? Right now, they are not getting the disclosures that are necessary or needed, and the brokers at the center of this highly centralized market often clash and do things that we would never allow the New York Stock Exchange to do.

SEC chairman doesn’t give an opinion, CFTC chairman says commodities!

The SEC and its Chairman Gary Gensler have not explicitly stated whether Ethereum is a security. However, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam said that ETH is a commodity. Meanwhile, multiple issuers are also vying for a spot Ethereum ETF. However, these have faced delays in the last few weeks. So optimism has since waned that the SEC will approve it by the end of May.

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