- Republican lawmakers blasted Gary Gensler over his ‘hostile’ approach to regulating digital assets in the country.
- Rep Tom Emmer and others accused the SEC of driving cryptocurrency investments into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.
- Gary Gensler wants more resources and manpower to effectively regulate digital assets amid criticism.
The once-loved crypto figure turned villain is now at the center of the head following a heated debate with the United States Congress on regulation.
At a hearing in the House Financial Service Committee, lawmakers probed the regulatory approach of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led by Gary Gensler. In the course of the hearing, Gensler noted that the digital asset industry is fast-paced, making it more difficult for the Commission to track.
Republican lawmakers were not having any of that defence as they lashed out at the Commission for not being decisive on rule-making and spurring confusion in the market which has hurt companies along with investors. Rep Tom Emmer took a direct swipe at Gensler with these words.
“You’ve been an incompetent cop on the beat.”
Taking the criticism a step further, Emmer noted that the current approach of the SEC is pushing start-ups and other American firms to the “hands of the Chinese Communist Party.” He went on the accuse Gensler of creating no rules in place.
“During your tenure at the SEC, how many rules has the SEC finalized that actually accommodate the existing regulatory framework and are specifically for the digital asset industry so that the crypto market can come into compliance?……… the answer is zero,” he added.
Gensler has been under fire from digital asset executives and their communities for many controversial regulatory decisions including looking to classify assets as securities.
Gensler remains undeterred
A group of Republican lawmakers criticized Gensler before the hearing through a letter highlighting that digital asset firms’ lack of compliance is the SEC’s fault. The letter noted that the lack of clear rules had created non-existent registration processes, and the only entity to blame was the SEC.
Responding to the harsh criticisms received from lawmakers, the SEC chairman restated his commitment to improving the current regulatory framework around digital assets. Gensler stated the need for more resources and manpower to keep up with the fast-changing industry effectively.
“In terms of digital assets, we could certainly use more resources,” said Gensler. “Definitely there are more things to look at and investigate than we have people on the staff to do.”
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