(Bloomberg) — Gary Gensler, outgoing chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, believes there is still much to be done to regulate altcoins and intermediaries in the digital asset market.
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Everyday investors are still not receiving adequate disclosures or information from digital asset companies, Gensler said Wednesday during an interview on Bloomberg Television.
The former Goldman Sachs executive’s tenure as Wall Street’s top cop has been marked by vigorous law enforcement efforts against many cryptocurrency players, from outright scammers to companies like Coinbase Global Inc. and proprietary trading firm DRW Holdings.
Gensler announced in November his plans to step down as agency chairman on Jan. 20, when President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in. Trump nominated Paul Atkins, former SEC commissioner, to lead the agency. It is expected to significantly reduce law enforcement actions against digital asset companies and take a favorable view of the digital asset industry.
Gensler noted that his predecessor, Jay Clayton, who led the agency during the first Trump administration, filed about 80 cryptocurrency-related law enforcement cases, while the agency filed about 100 during his tenure. But while the SEC under Clayton cracked down on companies that issued tokens that the agency considered securities, Gensler’s focus has often been on market intermediaries that fail to comply with securities laws regarding registration and divulgation.
The SEC has scored several court victories, as well as losses, over its position that companies are avoiding registration and disclosure requirements under Gensler’s leadership.
“I’ve never seen a field that’s so wrapped up in sentiment and not so wrapped up in fundamentals,” Gensler said, adding that he believes many of these crypto projects won’t survive.
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