Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler stated that he has never held cryptocurrency or digital assets for a April 18th audience.
SEC Chairman Does Not Own Crypto Assets
Asked by representative Bryan Steil if he had any digital assets, Gensler said:
“I do not own any crypto assets…[but] all my stock holdings are actually digital because they are held by a stockbroker.”
Gensler denied many times owning digital assets. He also pointed out that he had never had Bitcoin. He also dismissed digital assets as “highly speculative.”
He later claimed that he has a digital bank account and a brokerage account, “but no cryptocurrency.”
Gensler was also asked if his team members or subject matter experts own digital wallets or digital assets. Gensler responded that, to the best of his knowledge and in accordance with the rules of ethics, those individuals do not own digital assets.
Gensler made those remarks in response to Rep. Bryan Steil during a hearing before the US House Committee on Financial Services.
Concerns were previously raised about Gensler’s potential bias towards or against certain cryptocurrencies, as Gensler could selectively regulate the assets.
However, Gensler’s distance from the cryptocurrency industry could also be an issue. To that end, Steil accused Gensler of being “in the business…of making rules and regulations regarding digital assets” without personally owning said assets.
Other lawmakers also questioned Gensler.
Stein was just one of the House members who criticized Gensler during the hearing. Today’s hearing represents pushback from Republican lawmakers, who currently hold a majority in the House.
Rep. Patrick McHenry pressed Gensler to clarify Ethereum’s status as a security. Meanwhile, Rep. Warren Davidson has called for legislation to eliminate the SEC chair position and remove Gensler from that position, as announced on April 17th.
Republican lawmakers also condemned the SEC’s harsh approach to regulating cryptocurrency in a public letter. They said Gensler’s SEC invites digital asset firms to register but ultimately provides no process for doing so.
While today’s hearing represents opposition from Republican lawmakers, members of the SEC and the cryptocurrency industry have filed similar complaints.
The charge SEC’s Gary Gensler Says He Has Never Owned Crypto first appeared in CryptoSlate.
