In a viral video, Gary Gensler, the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says that Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash are not securities. This video is from 2018 when Gensler was a professor at MIT, and it contradicts his recent actions and statements as the SEC chair, where he has suggested that all cryptocurrencies, except Bitcoin, are securities.
A video of Gary Gensler from 2018 has resurfaced on social media, showing the current SEC chair claiming that four of the largest cryptocurrencies are not securities. In the video, which is believed to be from a Bloomberg event for institutional investors, Gensler says:
“Over 70% of the crypto market is Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash. Why did I name those four? They’re not securities.”
This view seems to be different from his current position as the head of the U.S. securities regulator, who has initiated several enforcement actions against the crypto industry in recent months. He has also implied that all cryptocurrencies, besides Bitcoin, are securities that need to comply with the SEC’s rules and regulations.
Chair Gensler in 2018 at a Bloomberg conference in NYC:
“Bitcoin. Ether. Litecoin. Bitcoin Cash. Why did I name those four? They’re not securities.”
What’s Goldman Gary going to say about this one? Deep fake? pic.twitter.com/p7DJlYkJIt
— Ryan Selkis 🪳 (@twobitidiot) June 12, 2023
The SEC has labeled at least 68 cryptocurrencies as securities in various lawsuits, but none of the four cryptocurrencies mentioned in the 2018 video have been included in this list. However, Gensler has refused to answer whether Ether is a security or not when asked by a U.S. House Committee in April.
This is not the first time that Gensler’s past comments on crypto have been brought up to question his current stance. In April, another video from 2019 circulated online, where Gensler praised Algorand’s technology as “great”. The same week, the SEC sued Bittrex and alleged that Algorand was a security in its complaint.
In another video from 2018, Gensler was teaching a class at MIT and stated that three-quarters of the market was “non-securities”. These videos suggest that Gensler had a more lenient and favorable attitude towards certain cryptocurrencies when he was an academic, but has changed his tone and approach since he became the SEC chair.
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