U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler says that cryptocurrencies fit into the regulator’s “broad remit,” fueling speculation that new rules to govern digital coins and tokens are coming.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Gensler restated his desire for more robust measures to protect cryptocurrency investors.
“The public’s anticipating some profit based upon the efforts of some entrepreneur or computer-science group that’s raised money from the public. That fits in our broad remit at the SEC,” he said during the interview.
Regarding cryptocurrency platforms, Gensler said that exchanges are “doing a lot more than just trading,” given that they also hold cryptocurrency tokens and sometimes trade against their customer base.
“I’ve said publicly: Come in, work with the SEC, get registered. They are fundamentally exchanges, but they also have this other activity going on inside of it. It’s really important to get that investor protection,” said Gensler.
Gensler has previously said that the U.S. stock market regulator is looking into ways to govern cryptocurrencies as it does with other securities.
