Gary Gensler, the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, has restated his firm stance that crypto exchanges should be regulated in the same manner as securities exchanges.
He declared that “no reason to treat the crypto market differently [from the securities market] just because a different technology is used” and warned that regulating crypto in another fashion would “risk undermining 90 years of securities law.”
Additionally, he blasted exchanges for offering custodial services without the necessary legal framework to safeguard deposits. Imagine giving the New York Stock Exchange complete control of your stock—that would never work, he argued. Furthermore, Gensler claimed that crypto trading platforms had “inherent conflicts of interest” because they served as market makers for a variety of products.
The SEC reportedly opened an inquiry into prominent crypto exchange Coinbase for allegedly dealing unregistered securities two days before Gensler’s remarks. In a court filing the week before, the regulatory body identified nine tokens offered on Coinbase as securities. Additionally, Gensler spoke on CNBC to make the case for the SEC’s regulation of crypto lending services.