Harvey Pitt, a former US SEC chairman between 2001 and 2003, spoke with Bloomberg about the future of crypto under Gary Gensler, the new chairman.
As Coinbase made its market debut via a direct listing on Nasdaq, Pitt was asked what he thought would happen in regards to crypto regulation and he said: “I expect to see a fair amount of regulation of cryptocurrencies. Right now, I think the rules are unclear.”
He added: “Whether or not certain offerings involve securities or not is unclear. There is a definite likelihood that the SEC will move forward. Gary Gensler is an expert on cryptocurrencies. He has taught about them. He is a market expert. I would expect to see clear rules of the road evolve under his leadership.”
Gensler is a crypto professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was named the new chairman of the SEC the previous week.
Pitt was also asked if the SEC or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should play the role of the crypto regulator. His answer was:
“There’s a real question about where jurisdictions lie and there may be a need for clarifying legislations. The SEC has already taken the position that bitcoin and ethereum are not securities and therefore there is no regulatory involvement on the SEC’s part.”
He also opinionated that firms such as Coinbase, “which is effectively making markets in cryptocurrencies,” are subject to SEC regulations, which means that the commission will indirectly have a degree of influence on how these cryptocurrencies will be marketed.