Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler’s plan to be the new sheriff policing the Wild West of Crypto comes as no surprise to one industry watcher.
Earlier this week Gensler announced that he plans on cracking down on cryptocurrency-related fraud and sought more assistance so he could better regulate exchanges and platforms. That stance has historical precedent, former SEC enforcement lawyer Ashley Ebersole said.
Now a securities and financial regulatory partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Ebersole said Gensler believes in the power of regulation to benefit markets.
“Chairman Gensler’s comments over the past few days are unsurprising in the context of his regulatory philosophy,” Ebersole said. “Going back to his overhaul of the swaps market during his CFTC tenure, it’s clear that Gensler sees the power of regulation to stabilize markets in beneficial ways.
“So while crypto regulation wasn’t among the SEC regulatory priorities released in June, it’s clearly coming. The open question is the precise form it will take. Will we see something closer to Commissioner Peirce’s safe harbor approach, or will it be something less industry-friendly?”