U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler reiterated to Congress this week that the SEC has no plans to ‘ban’ cryptocurrencies. In a direct reply to North Carolina Congressperson Ted Budd regarding any considerations of banning crypto to promote a central banking digital currency, or CBDC, Gensler stated “no, that would be up to Congress.” The statement came during a four-hour long hearing regarding crypto and DeFi. The SEC Stance Gensler’s remarks come just a week after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell echoed similar sentiments. Powell told the House Financial Services Committee that the Fed had “no plans to ban” crypto. However, Gensler did reiterate that crypto exchanges should register with the SEC, and that most crypto tokens will be viewed as securities. He also added that DeFi platforms are going to be subject to public policy. Of course, any regulatory move to outright ‘ban’ cryptocurrency in the U.S. is surely more effort than the outcome would be worth. There are increasing amounts of legislators across the U.S. that are coming on-board with crypto, and exchange accessibility and utilization for U.S. consumers is increasing rapidly. Lawmakers and regulators are ideally coming to terms with a set of facts that ring true for categories like sports gambling and marijuana: outright bans are a waste of time and resources, and everyone is ge...
