SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has been getting a lot of backlash from the crypto industry and the latest comes from Dogecoin founder Billy Markus. The backlash has persisted over the years in relation to regulations to help govern the crypto industry, something that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has failed to provide to stakeholders in the industry.
The Gensler Interview On Regulation
Gary Gensler appeared on CNBC in an interview where he talked about compliance when it comes to investing. More specifically, the interview focused on laws that govern the crypto space and how the agency is working to regulate it.
In a clip of the interview shared by the SEC chairman on X (formerly Twitter), Gensler talks about how non-compliance is rampant in the crypto space. Additionally, the SEC boss stated that securities laws are also not being followed by those in the industry, even though these securities laws are there to help investors with proper disclosures to know the kind of investments that they’re making.
Gensler explains that these laws are also there to protect investors from falling for fraudulent schemes. “There has been far too much fraud and bad actors in the crypto field,” the SEC boss narrated. “There’s a lot of noncompliance, not only with the securities laws, but other laws around any money laundering and protecting the public.”
He reiterated that crypto is the “Wild West.” However, even though it makes up such a small part of the United States capital market, Gensler believes that “it can undermine confidence when so many people have been hurt and all they can do is then stand in line at a bankruptcy court.”
Dogecoin Founder Responds To Gensler
Gensler’s comments during the interview have not been taken lightly by investors in the crypto space and Billy Markus is one of those who have come forward to express their displeasure. The Dogecoin founder responded to Gensler’s post, pointing out the fact that there have actually been no frameworks laid out for crypto firms to follow.
Markus accused the SEC boss of not laying out “any actual rules” and instead just ‘hand waving.’ The Dogecoin founder further called Gensler useless, saying; “You’re basically useless in every single way.”
bro you’ve never laid out any actual rules, you just hand wave
you’re basically useless in every single way
— Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) December 21, 2023
Interestingly, the Dogecoin founder is not the only one who has taken issue with Gensler recently. Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, a company that has been in a long-running battle with the SEC over alleged securities violations, also called out Gensler, calling him a hypocrite.
“Stunning hypocrisy from the person who cozied up to the biggest fraud in recent memory. Gensler is a political liability whose actions have decimated consumers and destroyed the integrity of the SEC while remaining buddy-buddy with Wall Street,” the Ripple CEO said.
