Gensler Chairman of SEC calls crypto "the wild west"

[paxmao]

In the Aspen Security Forum, Gensler requested authority from the US Congress to regulate cryptos strongly describing them as a Wild West full of fraud, scams and abuse.

There is something to be said about the leader of the organisation that allowed Madoff to run a Ponzi for decades speaking about crypto being a problem, but to be honest I cannot blame him. While the majority of the crypto community are honest people, the naivety of many has given wings to the thieves and fraudster. My take is that regulations, particularly in US are not going to make a difference for most people.

At the same time, he is admitting that crypto will become mainstream.

[1713421874]

1713421874

[jackg]

It's a bit of a victimless attack though too is probably something we have to consider.

Western Governments still haven't gone for diamonds even though that market is heavily manipulated and at least was mainly used in exchange for slaves and forced labour (in most cases they were installed before then or offered to country's leaders/royals as gifts).

Scams are pretty much rampant everywhere and I'd probably say the number reduced in the time before the Internet was offered globally but probably still occur on a similar level (adjusted for population) as they would've done back before the industrial revolution and towards the start of it - by country. Before mercenaries and other security was hirable and actually worked - and potentially some of the original intentions for the police and fire brigade (to protect possessions). But now the internet and cryptos are becoming more popular, but it's up to governments, isps and individuals to try to work out the best way to protect their citizens from that.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I couldn't read the article because I refuse to turn off my ad blocker in order to do so--but that won't keep me from calling this guy a cunt anyway.  Why do I say that?  Because I have no doubt that he wouldn't have an opinion about cryptocurrency if someone *hint: big banks* wasn't whispering in his ear that there was a problem, whether it's real or not.  Banks are in bed with the SEC, and they want to control crypto so they can line their own pockets.  If you don't believe me, you need to visit your local optometrist and get a new prescription.

What we need are crypto lobbyists, people advocating for crypto freedom to policiticans.  Unless that happens, banks are going to continue to own all of them courtesy of their own lobbyists.  Aren't there some bitcoin whales doing anything of the sort?  Unless people who believe in the freedom crypto provides are denied a voice, those corrupt politicians are just going to continue with this nonsense.

And yes, there are plenty of crypto scams.  That could be dealt with by educating people instead of regulating the whole space to death.

[Coyster]

What we need are crypto lobbyists, people advocating for crypto freedom to policiticans.  Unless that happens, banks are going to continue to own all of them courtesy of their own lobbyists.  Aren't there some bitcoin whales doing anything of the sort?  Unless people who believe in the freedom crypto provides are denied a voice, those corrupt politicians are just going to continue with this nonsense.

The Pharmacist, I totally understand what you're saying, but I think it's going to be somewhat difficult to get people to lobby in favor of decentralized crypto, it's much more easy when it's the case of the government, banks and their Sec, they are all centralized and have a common goal which is regulations. Having said that, most times Bitcoin whales only promote or lend their voices for Bitcoin just for their own personal benefits, sometimes it could somewhat be called manipulation/FUD just to shift the price to their advantage, they are most times not purely advocating for Bitcoin for the benefit of the network itself. So that's why as regards 'lobbying', crypto will never be anywhere near bank/government officials/representatives.

And yes, there are plenty of crypto scams.  That could be dealt with by educating people instead of regulating the whole space to death.

Exactly, but education would only then make people to use crypto the right way, take responsibility of their funds and be their own banks appropriately, but you and I know that's not what this 'regulators' want, they would prefer people keep making silly mistakes and thus losing their funds, so it gives then the audacity to continue clamouring and issuing more sanctions and regulations.

[Dragonfund]

Regulation is necessary in crypto for the safety of everyone. A newbie are finding it difficult to get because of common fraud we all face everyday because of this scammers.
Now, implementing regulations isn't the problem, the question is will regulation be fair and friendly despite the challenges.
I have seen Binance on tbe news recently how they are trying to fit-in in every country and they are slashing withdrawals, slashing of futures and options, it's taking us back to centralization.

[Charles-Tim]

From the link posted above, I saw an informative reason why Gary Gensler is finding it difficult for the regulation, because US regulators see Bitcoin more as a commodity rather than a security while many other cryptocurrencies are still benefitting from. But, come to think of it, Bitcoin is actually a commodity.

A key issue when it comes to crypto regulation is whose jurisdiction the sector falls under. Regulators broadly think bitcoin is more like a commodity than a security, likely putting the biggest cryptocurrency outside the SEC's remit.

But Gensler said DeFi lending could come under SEC oversight as it often offers a specific interest-rate return. He also said platforms that pool digital assets could be akin to mutual funds, meaning the SEC could regulate them.

In the Aspen Security Forum, Gensler requested authority from the US Congress to regulate cryptos strongly describing them as a Wild West full of fraud, scams and abuse.

Even, it is from the ancient era money has been known as the route of all evils, that does not change the fact that one of the deadliest terrorists (Boko Haram) abducted female school children in my country and demanded for ransom from the federal government, clearly the government paid and obviously will be in Fiat. Recently in my country, the rate of kidnapping has increased while the bad actors are demanding for ransom, even it is not new again that kings are kidnapped in my country by bandits, they are demanding for Fiat. Other kidnappers are still also abducting people while ransom is their aim, all yet in Fiat in my country, because if bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is demanded for are known, it would have been all over the news. Before the creation of Bitcoin, the deadliest terrorists were deadly, their were frauds and the likes. People do not blame Fiat at the time, but why blaming cryptocurrencies. Did you know that Fiat can be so untraceable if appropriately used by criminals? Because if adequately traceable, there should be no more terrorists, there should be no more bandits in my country because all the fundings are through Fiat.

I couldn't read the article because I refuse to turn off my ad blocker in order to do so--but that won't keep me from calling this guy a cunt anyway.

I saw the link to the original article while reading the article

New SEC Boss Wants More Crypto Oversight to Protect Investors
They want to regulate exchanges and other custodial services as they wanted before, I did not read anything like noncustododial wallets aside DeFi lending. We all know that if not someone's key, not someone's coin on blockchain, and also that if someone do not go for noncustodial wallet, the person will not have full control, because the private key gives the full control.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler said crypto would take off only if there were clear rules around the market. He said investors needed more protection from fraud and suggested he wanted to focus on exchanges. He said the SEC was looking at at least seven crypto areas, including DeFi, stablecoins, and ETFs.

The seven key areas: initial coin offerings, trading venues, lending platforms, decentralized finance, stable value coins, custody, and ETFs and other coin funds.

[just_Alice]

Though it may not seem like it, I think Gary Gensler is not trying to stand in a way of crypto adoption. He truly believes that strict regulations will make things better not only for investors but for the crypto market as well  

It’s too bad that people like this are in charge, the SEC has failed many times when it came to protection against frauds, and now they’re making a mistake, once again.

[livingfree]

Well, it is going to be like this but they cannot really stop its massive adoption. Before, when there's lesser adoption, they don't act on it quickly.

Now that they see that there's a massive inflows to the crypto market, they're trying to intervene and tells everything as if they're really experts on it.

They can't even stopped frauds from the bank phishing and credit card and scams that uses fiat.

[hatshepsut93]

Like it or not, regulations can not be avoided, the government takes everything related to flows of money very seriously. It's already a miracle that Bitcoin lasted for so many years without targeted regulations.

Of course everyone understands that it's impossible to regulate cryptocurrency directly, as it is decentralized, but they don't need to do it, because they can regulate exchanges and services that use it, and it will be enough to cover most cases.

I think if centralized exchanges will be able to list only approved coins, it would do more harm than good, though it would certainly do a lot of harm too, but if people will have harder access to shitcoins, that's a big plus. Advanced users will always be able to buy any coin they want, while less experienced people will be protected from their own stupidity.

[Darker45]

Well, to be fair to the man, there are indeed a lot of problems surrounding cryptocurrency which need a lot of solving. The lack of strict rules and regulations allowed thousands of questionable crypto projects to scam people of their hard-earned money. I share with the SEC's interest to particularly look into ICOs, lending platforms, stablecoins, DeFi, custody, and so on. They need regulating. Consumers cannot just be left on their own facing high risks with less protection.

I don't interpret this as a directed attack on Bitcoin. Crypto cannot be equated with Bitcoin. Even Gensler himself acknowledged Satoshi's invention as real while noticing the hype and bogus projects carrying the crypto brand.

[TheUltraElite]

Like it or not, regulations can not be avoided, the government takes everything related to flows of money very seriously. It's already a miracle that Bitcoin lasted for so many years without targeted regulations.

Honestly, I agree with your point. The people who run the government are way more knowledgeable than us common folk, even if one might think that it is not. Truth is that they have not yet found a proper method to regulate cryptocurrencies and therefore it has not happened yet.

Whatever happens in future, whether crypto becomes regulated or remains "wild west", people need to get educated about scams. Crypto is not a get-rich-quick scheme is what needs to be put in their heads. But awareness and knowledge will not cover everything, even real life experience and quick wit will help some people get out of tricky scams. Even then you cannot stop every scammer, because someone out there will always remain an idiot.

I for instance, do not agree with the statement that big banks are against crypto, I feel they can coexist and they will in future. Regulation is still debatable, it would be good if it could happen, then at least the lawbreakers and scammers who use crypto's anonymity as a weapon would be punished.

[mu_enrico]

I've read this "wild west" thing since I joined this forum, aka not a new idea. It's true though the space is not yet mature and many regulations are still not clear on what is allowed or not allowed, and one country's regulation differ each other. But yeah, scam is definitely a crime. We can expect this space will change related to KYC/AML and the status of crypto and is it a commodity, money, security, etc. Binance at the moment is the center of attention.

I also agree that the "crypto" will be the future of financial system, but its form may or may not be like the present "cryptocurrency."

[Lucius]

In the Aspen Security Forum, Gensler requested authority from the US Congress to regulate cryptos strongly describing them as a Wild West full of fraud, scams and abuse.

If we take it in general, then he is not far from the truth - because over 11000 coins/tokens are currently listed on CMC and that number is increasing very quickly. Whether we want to admit it or not, the fact is that maybe 1% of that number makes some sense, everything else is a heavy scam that survives precisely because of the lack of regulation.

If we draw a parallel with the real Wild West, then we know how they will try to solve the problem - what bothers them the most will literally kill, then they will introduce restrictions and bans, to eventually civilize (read centralize) the entire sector.

My take is that regulations, particularly in US are not going to make a difference for most people.

For most people in the US or for all other people around the world? I would hardly agree that the impact of US regulations will not have an impact on the crypto market around the world, because regardless of the so-called decentralization, we all know where the center of everything is. Every negative decision in the US has an impact on the entire crypto market, we can hardly escape from it.

[oHnK]

It's common for SEC officials to say crypto is the wild west, they really don't want this cutting edge innovation to be the solution to many things.  As is commonly understood, the SEC's status with banking has the same background, namely centralized economists.  They think that anything centralized is better than decentralized.  If crypto becomes common in society, they will be very afraid of not being able to regulate and manage the financial system in the future.  They consider the free thing to be something bar bar.

[bittraffic]

Up to what level are they going to regulate crypto because if they going up to where they can prevent transactions then this is going to kill the cryptocurrency industry. I feel like the crackdown will just get worse.

Is it possible that they can have authority over miners and pools?  China sends miners to US, it feels like the two country had planned it all. 😄

[stompix]

And isn't he right about it?
A thousand coins every month, hundreds of companies offering investments, each grabbing money and disappearing like bandits in the desert,  nobody to turn to as there is no sheriff in that area or he has no gun and no bullets, there is no way to get your money back unless you go full Charles Bronson mode and hunt for them and your money by yourself all over the globe.

Let's drop this whataboutism that is becoming really annoying and face reality. Yeah, what about Madoff, this means that one million years from now on and ten billion scams we will still deny there is a problem because...Madoff? What about banks? Fuck banks but fuck bitconnect and pincoin and mintpal and centra ...how many can we fit here?

Besides, he hasn't said a single bad thing about bitcoin, his target is tokens

Some such as Bitcoin that act like currencies are considered commodities, not securities. But there are thousands of other coins, and Gensler believes most are unregistered securities that must comply with SEC rules.

Also:

Gensler has spoken positively about the ETFs during his days at MIT, giving advocates hope that he’s a supporter. Peirce says it’s “high time” the SEC approved a crypto ETF.

[20kevin20]

Wasn't it just last year or two years ago that authorities found trillions of illicit USD were transferred through banks? I kind of agree that we can call it "The Wild West", but the Wild West of pumps & dumps and crazy volatility. The fraud/scam/etc excuses are already boring, bring us something new to the table, lol.

[capcaypro]

talking about Bernard Madoff running a ponzi scheme actually this goes awry because on the other hand what he does is wrong and makes people follow the way he works in the ponzi scheme so that bad-minded people will follow it to get money in an instant way even though that way is dirty.
On the other hand, this actually can't be blamed on everything in crypto because basically those who do that are unscrupulous and it's only a handful of people who run it so we can't and don't need to judge everyone in this scope. because an action like this is the same as making an article but in it there are several sentence errors and what is deleted is that the article does not replace some of the wrong sentences.
and this of course harms many parties when only some people are wrong, but everyone must be affected.

[el kaka22]

From the link posted above, I saw an informative reason why Gary Gensler is finding it difficult for the regulation, because US regulators see Bitcoin more as a commodity rather than a security while many other cryptocurrencies are still benefitting from. But, come to think of it, Bitcoin is actually a commodity.

I honestly believe that there is a good chance we could end up with other coins as commodity as well. Think about it, does it have more similar stuff with things like gold and silver and copper type of things? Or does it have more common things with dollar and euro and so forth? I have to say that it is definitely more like gold and so forth. I do not know what USA calls them, I do not know if that means asset or commodity, but it is definitely similar to that and both bitcoin and all other coins should be considered the same way as well.

I hope that we could one day see all the world coming together and finally figure out ONE rule/law whatever for crypto as a whole and then we can all work properly. They did that whole KYC swiftly like crazy and that was amazing, but now I am looking at other stuff and each nation goes on another pace.

[Fortify]

In the Aspen Security Forum, Gensler requested authority from the US Congress to regulate cryptos strongly describing them as a Wild West full of fraud, scams and abuse.

There is something to be said about the leader of the organisation that allowed Madoff to run a Ponzi for decades speaking about crypto being a problem, but to be honest I cannot blame him. While the majority of the crypto community are honest people, the naivety of many has given wings to the thieves and fraudster. My take is that regulations, particularly in US are not going to make a difference for most people.

At the same time, he is admitting that crypto will become mainstream.

At the end of the day the government could crack down very hard on cryptocurrency users if they thought it was vulnerable to a lot of criminal activity including money laundering. Many people in history have lost a lot of money by underestimating the effect of the US government - there have been large scale payment processors used over many years that eventually got shut down because they were abused in this way. If enough media attention gets focused on the negatives and new laws come in criminalizing behavior like owning Bitcoin, then it would very quickly be abandoned by all but the most hardcore owners out there - causing a massive slide in the price and further disincentivizing new buyers.