At 12 noon today, the House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing with SEC Chairman Gary Gensler testifying on behalf of the Commission. The regulation of digital assets (crypto assets) will be a pointed topic of discussion as has been already indicated in prepared remarks.
In advance of the hearing, Ranking Member Patrick McHenry has demanded that Gensler “clarify contradictory statements regarding SEC authority over digital assets.
In a letter sent to Gensler, McHenry states:
“The SEC’s ability to fulfill its mission—to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation—is closely connected to the clarity of the Commission’s communications with market participants. There are far-reaching consequences for the SEC’s decisions as to whether and how to deploy the agency’s powerful tools. For that reason, investors and other market participants expect the SEC to act based on an impartial assessment of the law and the facts as determined by the Commission, not the Chair’s impromptu public pontifications. You have made a series of concerning and apparently self-contradicting public statements regarding crypto assets and other innovative technologies. I request that you clarify these comments promptly to avoid further confusion in the marketplace.”
McHenry says that Gensler’s comments have “caused significant confusion for market participants and stakeholders in Congress.”
Expected a pointed discussion today between innovation-friendly representatives and a Chairman that is emerging as focusing solely on investor protection to the detriment of Fintech.
The letter is available below.