SEC Chair Pledges to do more to Foster Crypto Investor Protection
Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler has declared during the 2021 FINRA annual conference, that his administration will do everything possible to put in place active policies that would foster consumer protection in the country’s crypto ecosystem.
Gensler Leaving no Loophole for Bad Actors
During a virtual conference conducted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on May 20, Gary Gensler, the newly appointed chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), made it clear that his administration will join forces with other regulators to foster transparency in the crypto and traditional finance system.
Gensler has made it clear that it has become quite crucial for regulators to have an active policy agenda that will give bad actors no chance to operate.
He said:
“Every day, I am animated by working families and what the SEC means to them. I’m also thinking every day about the SEC’s three-part mission to protect investors, facilitate capital formation, and what links the two: fair, orderly, and efficient markets.”
“We need to do whatever we can to ensure that bad actors aren’t playing with working families’ savings and that the rules are enforced aggressively and consistently. Technology is always evolving, as are our markets. As we continue to stay abreast of those developments, the SEC and FINRA should be ready to bring cases involving issues such as crypto, and fintech,” he added.
Gensler Equal to the Task?
While United States regulators have been taking various actions to foster consumer protection including hammering down a vast array of crypto-linked projects for purportedly selling unregistered securities to Americans, and issuing warning letters to the public, highlighting the risks inherent in digital currencies, among other measures, the authorities are yet to start looking at implementing amenable regulations that would also accelerate innovation in the region and make it a hotbed for blockchain startups.
On May 20, 2021, the U.S Treasury announced plans to tighten the noose on crypto tax evaders by making it mandatory for crypto transactions up to $10,000 or more to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Though crypto advocates remain hopeful that Gensler and his team would formulate clearer guidelines and fairer laws that will not stifle the growth of the U.S crypto ecosystem, it remains to be seen whether this dream will come to fruition soon.
