SEC Chairman Slams Crypto Again Despite Imminent Resignation. What Did He Say?

Why Bitcoin is Criticized

During an interview on Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, the current SEC chairman repeated the claim that the cryptocurrency industry is “full of bad actors.” He also compared his own performance to that of Jay Clayton, the SEC chief appointed by Donald Trump in 2017.

Gensler said he was proud of the work he had done at the regulator, and the commission still had work to do with less than two weeks to go before he was fired, The Block reported .

Bloomberg journalists asked Gary about the Commission’s lawsuits against well-known representatives of the blockchain niche, as well as the results of such actions. To this, the official noted that “the agency built its work on the basis of the activity of previous chairmen.” That is, in this way, Gensler essentially partially absolved himself of responsibility for aggression against the blockchain niche and digital assets.

Here is his replica.

This is a field that has formed around inconsistencies. I am proud of what we have accomplished, while building on the work of Chairman Clayton and others before us. I believe there is much more work to do.

Let’s remember that Jay Clayton was the chairman of the SEC from 2017 to 2020, meaning he got to experience the so-called ICO boom in crypto.


We are talking about fundraising for the launch of various blockchain projects, which sometimes ended with the theft of investors' funds. However, some teams were still able to succeed thanks to this financing model. The main example of a successful ICO is the world's largest crypto exchange Binance.


The regulator under Clayton has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, including KiK and the issuer of the XRP cryptocurrency, Ripple. Gensler commented on its activities.

Jay Clayton launched 80 enforcement actions in this area. We’ve done about 100 in four years, which is a continuation of that pace. That’s probably about 5 percent of our overall enforcement.

Finally, Gary shared his opinion on what is happening in the crypto sphere. For him, the coin industry is divided into two components – Bitcoin and everything else. Here is the response.

I have been involved in finance for over forty years. All market components trade on a combination of fundamentals and sentiment at any given time. However, I have never encountered an industry that was so heavily focused on sentiment and so little on fundamentals.


Gensler means that crypto is heavily influenced by the hype around a particular trend, which is true. However, he also downplays the key features of popular digital assets.


These include decentralization of blockchain platforms and their independence from governments and companies, fixed inflation rates of some coins, and a limited maximum supply. And we can’t forget about the ability to store digital assets using a hardware wallet, which preserves a person’s full ownership of their money.

Let us recall that Donald Trump chose Paul Atkins as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. We wrote about him in more detail in a separate article.

The Future of Cryptocurrency Regulation in the US

Outgoing Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Banham has decided to support the cryptocurrency sector. He did so during his final public appearance on Wednesday at a Brookings Institution event in Washington.

According to sources , the official called on the new Congress to fill the gaps in the regulation of digital assets. Banham also noted that developing new rules for managing the crypto sphere in the United States will take time, but it cannot be avoided. Here is his response.

My position has not changed. I will continue to advocate for the CFTC to fill this gap if Congress so chooses. Even after I leave office.


Recall that in November 2024, it became known that the administration of the newly elected US president wants to make the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and not the Securities and Exchange Commission, responsible for regulating the crypto sphere. Blockchain enthusiasts welcomed this news, since the CFTC management had previously directly stated that cryptocurrencies belong to the sphere of goods, and not unregistered securities.


Banham estimates that it will take six to 10 months for crypto legislation to be passed, with subsequent rulemaking by federal agencies taking another year. He continues.

I do believe that from day one the interim leadership will change the approach to regulation. Many of the current commissioners have spoken out about sandboxes and creating an environment where coin market participants can operate without fear of enforcement or regulation because it will be a controlled environment.


It seems that a change of power in the US can really change the situation with cryptocurrencies. If regulators stop putting pressure on companies and developers, this will be enough to develop the sphere. And clear rules of operation will certainly allow America to gain leadership in the sphere.