Gensler is under fire for referring to crypto as a security

Gary Gensler – a united states security regulator – came under fire for referring to crypto as a security. In a recent interview, Gary claimed that all cryptocurrencies except bitcoin are security that falls under the Security and Exchange Commission’s regulatory authority. 

In a New York magazine interview on Feb 23 the SEC chair Gary Gensler while discussing crypto stated that “everything other than Bitcoin” falls under their jurisdiction” and that is not the case with bitcoin. 

To justify his statement he further said that other cryptocurrencies “are securities because there’s a group in the middle and the public is anticipating profits based on that group.

The statement didn’t go well with the cryptocurrency lawyer so they affronted his comments. On Feb 26 a lawyer and policy lead at the crypto advocacy group the Blockchain Association tweeted to abnegate Gary’s remarks. He argued that no matter how much command he claims to have over the crypto sector his “opinions are not the law”.

Gensler added that until the SEC proves its case in court for gaining jurisdiction over each token, it won’t have the authority to regulate any of them. 

Another lawyer Logan Bolingan also jumped into the issue and tweeted on Feb 26  “that Gensler’s opinions on what is or isn’t a security are not legally dispositive” which means his remarks don’t have any legal backing and also “Judges — not SEC chairs — ultimately determine what the law means and how it applies,”

Jason Brett, the policy director at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, argued that Gensler’s views “shouldn’t be celebrated, but feared,” and that “there are ways to win other than via a regulatory moat.”

SEC needs 12,305 lawsuits: Gabriel Shapiro

Gabriel Shapiro the general counsel at Delphi labs also highlighted the issue in a series of tweets he clearly talked about the ways in which SEC could make its mark in the industry. He also said that there are 12,300 tokens in the world and SEC will have to file 12,300 lawsuits against them.

According to Shapiro, the SEC has adopted two primary approaches when dealing with crypto. The first is to find token creators and mandate issuer registration. The second approach involves imposing fines and ordering the destruction of created tokens, as well as their removal from exchanges.