SEC Chair Gary Gensler Delivers A Stern Warning To Crypto Firms In Halloween Post

Updated: 01 November 2023

Disclosure

Don’t invest unless prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment, you shouldn’t expect to be protected if something goes wrong.

Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler used a Halloween Post on X to issue a stern warning to crypto firms.

“Any crypto companies that are tricking investors should start treating them to compliance with the securities laws,” Gensler said.

He also wished a happy 15th anniversary to Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper, which was Bitcoin’s blueprint.

”If Satoshi Nakamoto went as Satoshi Nakamoto for Halloween, would we be able to tell?” he asked.

If Satoshi Nakamoto went as Satoshi Nakamoto for Halloween, would we be able to tell?

Happy 15th anniversary to Satoshi’s famous white paper that started crypto.

Any crypto companies that are tricking investors should start treating them to compliance with the securities laws.

— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) October 31, 2023

Under Gensler’s leadership, the SEC has taken a tough stance against non-compliance within the digital asset industry, targeting major players such as Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. It argues that crypto firms are engaged in the sale of unregistered securities and is bent on bringing them into line.

The securities watchdog chair has often insisted that the crypto industry as ”rife with fraud” and ”hucksters” and says that most crypto tokens are securities.

Gary Gensler In The Spotlight

The post gathered various responses with some asking Gensler to approve the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). While Gensler hasn’t approved a spot Bitcoin ETF to date, he remains in the spotlight due to ongoing reviews of numerous applications.

The SEC chairman recently disclosed that the regulator is currently assessing eight to ten spot Bitcoin ETF applications, among which Grayscale Investments, ARK Investment Management, Blackrock, Bitwise, Wisdomtree, Fidelity, Vaneck, and Invesco are key applicants.

Just approve the damn ETF, Gary.

— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) October 31, 2023

Analysts, including those at JPMorgan, anticipate the approval of multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs simultaneously. Investor optimism over approval has triggered a spike in Bitcoin’s price and a buoyant crypto market more broadly.

Regulatory Ambiguity and Industry Response

Despite Gensler’s persistent push for compliance and regulatory clarity, critics argue that such stringent measures could create regulatory ambiguity and stifle innovation within the cryptocurrency sector.

Industry leaders and lawmakers have been pushing back against the regulator, which has suffered some legal defeats in recent months.