Most cryptocurrencies are securities, says SEC’S Gary Gensler

Gary Gensler believes that most cryptocurrencies are securities and wants the SEC to regulate the market.

Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealed in an interview with CNBC earlier this week that he believes most cryptocurrencies are securities.

When asked who should regulate cryptocurrencies, Gensler said the SEC is best equipped to regulate the emerging market. He said;

“Our agency is an agency that oversees this basic bargain. When a group of entrepreneurs is raising money from the public, and the public is anticipating a profit, they need disclosure — full, fair, and truthful disclosure, and that’s the core bargain in our capital markets. You get to take the risk, but the person raising money or the person raising money has to disclose various information to you. That’s how our capital markets work best, and the SEC is very good at this, and that’s what we do. The law is clear on this. I believe, based on the facts and circumstances, most of these tokens are securities.”

Data obtained from Coinmarketcap showed that there are over 21,000 cryptocurrencies currently available. Gensler said most of the cryptocurrencies currently available are securities. He said;

“Of the nearly 10,000 tokens in the crypto market, I believe the vast majority are securities. Offers and sales of these crypto security tokens are covered by the securities laws. Given that most crypto tokens are securities, it follows that many crypto intermediaries are transacting in securities and have to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission in some capacity.”

Gensler’s comment comes barely a month after the SEC opened a new office dedicated to managing crypto issuer filings.

The SEC said the Office of Crypto Assets would function under the Division of Corporation Finance’s Disclosure Review Program (DRP) and specialise in “providing a focused review of issuer filings.”

In May, FTX’s CEO Sam Bankman-Fried suggested that the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should work together to regulate the crypto market. 

Regarding the SEC’s cooperation with the CFTC, Gensler said;

“To the extent that crypto intermediaries may need to one day register with both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), I would note we currently have dual registrants in the broker-dealer space and in the fund advisory space.”

The cryptocurrency market has been in a bearish trend for nearly a year, with prices of most coins and tokens down by more than 60% from their all-time highs.