Bybit CEO bashes harsh SEC crypto stance

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou has joined the regulations talk, telling crypto.news that harsh crackdowns on crypto exchanges won’t benefit anyone. During the Blockchain Life summit in Dubai earlier today, he added that he expects bitcoin (BTC) to hit $50,000.

Bybit’s Ben Zhou doubles down on crypto crackdowns

At the Blockchain Life summit Dubai, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou told crypto.news that crypto crackdowns may be going too far lately, commenting that it’s not beneficial for anyone. 

He said, “ As far as my opinion goes, I don’t think regulation is the answer. To be honest, far more scams are happening in the regulated space.” 

Our reporter further questioned whether this opinion was related to the FTX meltdown. Zhou answered that after the FTX meltdown saga, many asked him whether he thought regulation would solve such issues. He said the answer is always “regulation is not going to solve the problem.”

He doubled down on the regulated spaces having more scams than the crypto space.

Zhou added that if you could ask the large non-crypto companies about their reserves, they probably wouldn’t answer. He also asserted that not even the banks guarantee a hundred percent, maybe not even more than 5% clarity on their safety of reserves.

In related comments, Zhou said that he expects bitcoin to hit $50,000 this year and people should be considering buying.

SEC gets backlash for harsh crypto regulation

Ben Zhou is one of the many people who have reacted to the continued and harsh crypto regulation. His stance is that the crypto industry won’t move forward due to harsh regulation, a sentiment shared by his Coinbase counterpart, Brian Armstrong.

Armstrong has been calling out the SEC for too harsh crackdowns on crypto, citing poor usage of power where the regulator is using enforcement methods. Earlier this month, the SEC charged Kraken $30 million plus a ban from offering crypto staking in the U.S.

Other news also surfaced claiming that Binance would follow suit and settle charges by taking a fine from the regulator.

Kraken’s Jesse Powell also detested the charges saying that he should have done better and not fallen into the SEC’s demands.

Yesterday, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler tweeted that it considers all crypto transactions as securities apart from bitcoins’. His comments were not received well by lawyers and the crypto community at large.

These tendencies to push regulation too far push crypto stakeholders to speak out. Keep watching crypto.news for updates on regulation and other crypto-related stories.