Bitcoin is a commodity states SEC’s Gary Gensler

Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), has pointed out that he believes Bitcoin is the only security. He made this statement during an interview with CNBC on Monday.

Gensler says that “I think bitcoin is a commodity and it’s a security. I think right now the United States has said it’s a commodity, but I think other jurisdictions including the European Union have called it a currency.”

When asked about the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulations, Gensler says that most cryptocurrencies are securities. He states that he believes Bitcoin is the only commodity. Gensler says;

“This is a highly speculative asset class. We’ve known this for a long time. The ups and downs of this speculative asset class. When people invest in bitcoin and hundreds of other crypto tokens, they hope for a return, just like when they invest in other financial assets. Many cryptocurrencies have the key attributes of securities, which means they fall under the SEC. Some, like bitcoin, and that’s the only one I’m going to say, are commodities.”

Gensler adds that to guarantee that cryptocurrency investors are adequately safeguarded. The SEC, CFTC, and banking regulators must work together.

Bitcoin is a commodity states SEC, Gary Gensler. This is not news to anyone who has been paying attention to the digital asset class. We’ve known this for a long time. The ups and downs of this speculative asset class are well documented.

When people invest in bitcoin and hundreds of other crypto tokens. They are doing so with the understanding that these are high-risk, highly volatile investments.

But it is good to have this confirmation from someone as respected as Gary Gensler. He is, after all, the man who ran the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2009 to 2014. So when he says that bitcoin is a commodity, the markets listen.

He claims that the vast majority of cryptocurrency tokens on the market now are not in compliance with the necessary financial authorities. 

The chair of the SEC was also questioned about stablecoins. Stablecoins have emerged as a major issue in the financial world.

The recent demise of the UST stablecoin has prompted regulators in several countries to pay close attention to stablecoins.

He states that;

“There’s a lot of risk in crypto, and there’s also a lot of risk in classic securities markets. In the U.S, we have market regulators like the CFTC and the SEC to help protect the public against fraud and manipulation in the markets.”

Bitcoin has dropped below $21k after losing more than 1% of its value in the last 24 hours. As per Gensler, even though Bitcoin dropped in value, it still managed to outperform other asset classes.

Regulators from around the world are turning their attention to stablecoins, according to Gensler.

He adds that work needs to be done around stablecoins. Banking regulators need to ensure that the investing public is protected from stablecoins. He states that;

“There is a lot of work to do around stablecoins. But first, we need to make sure that the investing public is protected from the fraud and manipulation that we’ve seen in too many digital asset markets. Banks need to take extra care when they get involved with stablecoins.”

Stablecoins are digital assets that are pegged to a stable asset, such as the US dollar. They are designed to minimize volatility and provide a stable store of value.

Do you agree with Gensler on this? Whatever you think, hit the comment section and tell us what you think!