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- Gary Gensler’s most recent public appearance on Bloomberg kick-started (admittedly sarcastic) speculation that the SEC Chair might actually be a huge Bitcoin fan.
- The controversial regulatory leader wished Bitcoin’s whitepaper a “happy sweet sixteen” as the market enters a new era of maturity.
- Despite the nice sentiment, Gensler backed up the SEC’s tactic of regulation by enforcement on the crypto scene.
Who would you consider to be Bitcoin’s number-one fan?
Michael Saylor? Elon Musk? Satoshi Nakamoto? Donald Trump?
Well, if you answered any of the above – you’d be wrong.
The true answer is Gary Gensler, the appointed arch-nemesis of the cryptocurrency industry and Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
As it turns out, the past three years of incessant lawsuits, stifled innovation and refusal to craft progressive financial reform was just a case of Gensler and friends playing hard-to-get.
Related: Minneapolis Fed Criticises Bitcoin as ‘Useless Piece of Paper’, Citing Risks to Economic Stability
Gensler Sticks to Guns, Claims Regulation By Enforcement Is Necessary
Gary Gensler’s reign (not of terror, but something like that) is likely coming to an end if Donald Trump wins the election – although even a Harris win might see some shuffling on the board.
There’s no doubting Gensler has left a lasting legacy on the crypto industry. Political narratives are more fun when there are “goodies and baddies”, and the SEC has seamlessly fit into the role of the Joker to crypto’s Batman.
The biggest criticism of Gary Gensler and the SEC is a lack of regulatory clarity, leaving innovative crypto businesses in the dark as to what they’re allowed to do, and what will see them left with a subpoena on their doorsteps.
This “regulation by enforcement” strategy has been quite unpopular, but in an interview with Bloomberg, Gensler doubled-down on the tactic.
We have benefited for nine decades from robust laws from Congress and rules from various agencies…to protect investors. A lot of people have lost money in a field that’s not providing the fundamental disclosure about their projects and investment contracts. If a market’s ever going to have trust, it also needs to come into compliance.
Gary Gensler, SEC Chair
Is Gensler a Secret Bitcoin Maxi? Okay…Probably Not…But Maybe?
But despite all the infamy shrouding Gensler’s negative stance on crypto…there are some signs that it may have all been a charade.
In just over a week the world will be celebrating the 16th birthday of Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin whitepaper, originally released on Halloween 2008.
And in a spookily out-of-character move, Gensler was quick to wish Bitcoin a “happy sweet sixteen.”
This immediately led to crypto Twitter having fun, claiming Gensler had long concealed his true love for Bitcoin and the DeFi markets.
I’ve always maintained that Gensler is a secret Maxi.
He put up just enough resistance to make it look plausible, but really he could have made things far far harder.
— Ari Steele ⚡️ (@atseawithari) October 22, 2024
Okay, hear them out.
Despite all the huffing and puffing, it was under Gary Gensler’s tenure as SEC Chair that spot ETFs hit the US markets. This move single-handedly revolutionised the crypto industry, bringing in institutions, banks and adding legitimacy to a fledgling market.
Related: CryptoQuant Says Retail Investors Are Starting to Come Back to Crypto Market
Yes, it probably would’ve happened anyway – but still, Gensler’s run with the SEC might not be looked back on as negatively as many believe.