Gary Gensler compares crypto investments to goldfish
Gary Gensler makes a fool of himself in the crypto community with a new video.
Gary Gensler is making a fool of himself in the crypto community with a new video. In it, the SEC chief draws an interesting comparison.
SEC head Gary Gensler has long been persona non grata for many in the crypto community since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rolled out several measures against American firms like Coinbase, Kraken, and Paxos. In a new video, the 65-year-old again mocked and insulted the community. In it, Gensler compared crypto investments, among other things, to goldfish.
View post on X is part of a series where Gary Gensler dissects individual topics from the SEC’s regulatory perspective. In this video he explains why crypto platforms should fall under the regulator’s oversight. His argument: The use of the platforms creates an investment contract between the customer and the operator. So U.S. securities laws apply, meaning the companies must register with the SEC.
Gensler tries to illustrate the clash with crypto platforms with an example:
“On many places, dogs must be kept on a leash. If you’re cited for an unleashed dog, you might argue that it’s a goldfish, but you’ll still be fined. The law cares about what it is, not how it’s labeled. In other words, you could say that they (the crypto platforms) are trying to make a dog look like a goldfish.”
Crypto community criticizes
Responses from the crypto community didn’t take long to roll in. Some Twitter users reminded Gensler of his appearance two weeks ago before the House Finance Committee. There, the SEC head did not say whether Ether was an asset or not, despite multiple requests.
Immediately beneath the video, another user posted a clip of Gary Gensler giving a lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2018. At the time, he said: "Three-quarters of Space is not classified as securities by the SEC."
Meanwhile, discussions around the SEC chief stretch beyond the crypto space. A Republican congressman recently openly called for Gensler to resign. And criticism of his actions also comes from the Democratic side, which has supported the 65-year-old so far.
