Trouble in Gensler's House?

 

If one of your talents consists of binge watching series (hey, we're not judging!), you must have already heard of the American science fiction series “Stranger Things” on Netflix.

What does this have to do with crypto, you may ask?

SEC’s Hester Peirce has publicly criticised her own agency’s crypto approach as “Strange” in a recent appearance.

While this television show is nothing short of imagination, the horror seems to have translated to real life – Stranger SEC Things.

Let’s clarify…

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Hester Peirce took the opportunity to emphasise her critiques of the SEC during her time at EthDenver.

Read more : ETHDenver kicked off on February 29th 

Peirce has expressed both dissatisfaction and frustration with the regulator’s approach of “regulating by enforcement” and strongly blamed the agency for its delay in approving spot Bitcoin ETFs. She has also highlighted the need for clear rules in the evolving sector.

This isn’t weird coming from Peirce, who is known for being the “Crypto Mom” … which comes in contrast with Gensler’s POV on cryptocurrency as a whole.

“The Grayscale case basically gave us the option of approving a Bitcoin exchange-traded product, and it's remarkable to me that it took a court to tell us that we had to do that,” Peirce stated during a “fireside” conversation with CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos.

As we all know, one of the main barriers within the crypto industry is the SEC’s reliance on enforcement actions instead of establishing clear regulatory guidelines in advance.

Interestingly enough, her comments come at a time when industry leaders have criticised the SEC’s enforcement-based regulation, with the House Financial Services Committee seeking to decrease the regulator’s control over the crypto industry.

Gensler must not be happy with that, for sure…

Moreover, Peirce called for collaboration between crypto enthusiasts and policymakers to develop ideas that can be potentially implemented when SEC Chair Gensler changes his stance on cryptocurrencies. But will he, ever?

Bitcoin has gained some legitimacy in the eyes of the SEC as it has become “sufficiently decentralised”.

While the Crypto Mom has repeatedly advocated for fair cryptocurrency regulations by the SEC, she also made sure to highlight the agency’s importance for prosecuting fraud in the space.

“If you're talking about fraudsters who are ripping people off, certainly I think we want someone to be there to go after those kinds of people,” she said. “But I still think we're better off sitting down and thinking through what regulation makes sense in this in this area. And that should be a conversation. It shouldn't be a one-sided conversation through ‘read our latest enforcement press release.”

The Commissioner’s public opposition to Gensler’s well- established stance on crypto is somewhat surprising – which raises questions on whether the SEC is the best suitable regulator when it comes to crypto.

Now the question remains… Will the SEC’s stance towards ETH ETFs specifically and crypto generally be more positive moving forward?

Read More: Speed Bumps Ahead for Ethereum ETF Applications