Gary Gensler Attributes SEC’s Focus on Crypto to Financial Media and Fraud Concerns

Gary Gensler, Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has defended the agency’s focus on the crypto industry by citing concerns over scams and frauds. In an interview, Gensler acknowledged that while crypto represents a small portion of the financial markets, it disproportionately contributes to issues such as scams and frauds, attracting significant media attention. Gensler pointed out that the financial press tends to amplify coverage of crypto-related matters, leading to a heightened perception of the industry’s importance. He emphasized that the SEC oversees a $110 trillion capital market and that crypto is an outsized piece of the scams and problems in the market. The SEC has increased its enforcement actions in the crypto space, initiating 46 crypto-related enforcement actions last year. Gensler stressed the importance of transparency in crypto markets and called for mandatory disclosure to combat evasion of registration requirements. These actions reflect Gensler’s stance that most cryptocurrencies should be classified as securities. The SEC continues its campaign to potentially classify Ethereum as a security, issuing subpoenas as part of this effort.