SEC Chairman Gary Gensler Criticized for Handling of Cryptocurrency Regulation at House Committee Hearing

COINOTAG news reported on September 25, citing Cointelegraph, that during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler faced heavy criticism for his approach to U.S. cryptocurrency regulation. Congressman Tom Emmer denounced Gensler, calling him the most “destructive” and “lawless” chairman in the SEC’s 90-year history. Emmer accused Gensler of inventing the term crypto asset security, which reportedly lacks regulatory backing. Emmer asserted, “You have concocted the phrase crypto asset security, which has no grounding in existing regulations. You have failed to provide clear guidance on defining crypto asset security within the SEC’s purview. This inconsistency has impeded progress, and your chairmanship is unprecedented in its destructiveness and disregard for the law.” Emmer further noted that this term had been the cornerstone of Gensler’s enforcement actions against the cryptocurrency sector for the past three years. Significantly, SEC attorneys retracted the terminology in a court footnote just last week. Internal dissent was also apparent, with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce criticizing the agency’s delay in retracting the term, stating it should have happened much earlier. Peirce emphasized that the SEC should have recognized long ago that crypto tokens do not qualify as securities.