The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) maintains that most cryptocurrencies are securities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said in a speech yesterday that most cryptocurrencies fall under securities and should be overseen by the SEC.
Gensler said this while speaking at the Penn Law Capital Markets Association Annual Conference on Monday. He said;
“The fact is, most crypto tokens involve a group and entrepreneurs raising money from the public in anticipation of profits — the hallmark of an investment contract or a security under our jurisdiction. Some, probably only a few, are like digital gold; they may not be securities.”
The SEC has previously maintained that Bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities. However, the regulatory agency has been in a legal battle with Ripple, the blockchain company behind XRP, for more than a year now.
In addition to cryptocurrencies, Gensler said the SEC is committing to bringing greater regulatory scrutiny to cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, Coinbase and Kraken.
He said the SEC is working to ensure that cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the United States are properly registered and comply with the various financial regulations. He added that;
“Until the platforms are actually registered and regulated, I don’t think the tokens will significantly come in and register.”
Gensler said the SEC is currently in talks with the cryptocurrency exchanges and will provide further updates on how it progresses.
Most crypto issuers are yet to register with the SEC despite Gensler reiterating numerous times that most digital tokens are under its jurisdiction. The tone is similar to that of former SEC chair Jay Clayton who continues to urge crypto issuers to register with the agency.
The US government is yet to roll out proper regulations for the cryptocurrency market. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is another regulatory agency that wants to regulate the cryptocurrency space.
CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam has argued that the US Congress should pass a law giving his agency regulatory power over the crypto market.
