- U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler met with Congress this week to discuss the agency’s 2023 fiscal-year budget
- Gensler talked about the role crypto regulation plays in the $2.1 billion budget requested by President Joe Biden
- Gensler also made comments about crypto exchanges, warning exchange operators to register their platforms or face probing
This week’s crypto news is falling on regulators talking about the asset class once again. Yesterday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler shined some light on the role that crypto will play in the agency’s 2023 budget. Gensler also commented on the crypto exchanges that don’t want to play ball with regulators, suggesting a crackdown is imminent.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gensler testified in front of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations. The meeting — in which the SEC is looking to secure its 2023 budget — turned out to be a very crypto-heavy conversation.
Gensler used the crypto industry to support President Joe Biden’s requested $2.1 billion 2023 SEC budget. The SEC Chair said the budget will allow the agency to employ an additional 50 employees. These employees would be part of the body’s enforcement division. Gensler cited the crypto industry as a need for this mass of new hires.
Gensler pointed to the recent collapse of the Terra (LUNA-USD) ecosystem as an example; investors have lost thousands — or even millions — of dollars as a result of the project’s collapse. Moreover, evidence of shady dealings behind the scenes of the project are cropping up. Now, South Korean watchdogs are handing developers a $78 million fine for tax evasion as the Terra legal team abandons the company. It has also come to light that founder Do Kwon hid a previous project failure from the public.
Crypto News: Gensler Determined to Crack Down on Crypto
Gensler hopes that the new budget will help the SEC bring in a new team of regulators to take on the nascent-yet-sizable crypto industry. These hires will fill out the body’s new Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit. Gensler is using much of his energy trying to convince Congress to approve the spending. But he is also generating crypto news by threatening unregistered exchanges.
Yesterday, the chairman made a point to send some warning shots in the direction of exchanges not yet operating within U.S. government regulations. Gensler said these exchanges should now be working to register within the States. Else, he says the SEC will “continue to bring, use what Congress has given us, in our enforcement and examination functions.”
Of course, these statements came with some pushback from pro-crypto lawmakers. Namely, Republican Representative Steve Womack criticized the SEC for failing to create explicit regulations for the industry. However, Gensler pushed back against these claims, saying the SEC has been clear and consistent with its enforcement. Gensler added that he hopes to implement a set of new crypto-specific regulations in the future.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
