• The SEC Chair Gary Gensler recently defended his agency’s lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, criticizing them for failing to register and comply with securities laws.
• Gensler dismissed claims from exchanges that stated they lacked “fair notice” that their conduct could be illegal.
• Gensler also addressed the claims by Coinbase and Robinhood that they tried to comply with the SEC and failed, stressing that it takes work to comply with crypto regulations.
SEC Chair Defends Crypto Crackdown
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) latest crackdown on crypto has been defended by its chair Gary Gensler. He argued that crypto exchanges were warned of potential legal consequences for failing to register and adhere to securities laws, denying any notion of lack of fair notice.
Gensler Goes After Exchanges
Gensler criticized crypto exchanges for knowingly making a „calculated economic decision“ not to comply with securities laws, which he claims denies investors of critical protections. Furthermore, he dismissed the complaints from Robinhood and Coinbase who claimed they had attempted compliance but failed, suggesting instead that some exchanges were unwilling to make necessary changes in order for this to occur.
Leaked Chat Logs From Binance
To back up his statement, Gensler cited leaked chat logs from a former Binance Compliance Lead which read: „We are operating as a fking unlicensed securities exchange in the USA bro.“ This serves as an example of how aware crypto entities are about existing rules and regulations – yet still fail to adhere properly.
Views On Crypto Assets
Gensler underlined the importance for crypto security issuers to register the offer and sale of their investment contracts as most cryptocurrencies are considered securities due to their value being dependent on third-party efforts.
Implications Of Crackdown
The stance taken by Gensler is significant in terms of implications for all intermediaries involved in the broader cryptocurrency market; leading many questioning what future regulation might look like under Gensler’s leadership.
