Congressman Tom Emmer, who is known for his support for cryptocurrencies, has criticized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler for his approach to regulating the crypto industry. Emmer accused Gensler of being a “bad faith regulator” and stated that he has been targeting the crypto community without taking any action against the real bad actors.
During an interview with Laura Shin on the Unchained podcast on April 7, Emmer expressed his disappointment with Gensler’s regulatory oversight on the crypto industry. He claimed that the SEC Chair has been blindly enforcing regulations on the crypto community without taking a deeper look at the real issues in the sector. Emmer believes that Gensler has failed to identify the real bad actors in the industry and has instead been targeting the entire community, including those who are following the rules and regulations.
Emmer’s criticism comes as Congress gears up for a busy last two weeks of April for crypto policy, with legislation and oversight of regulators on the agenda. Emmer has been a vocal advocate for cryptocurrencies and has introduced several bills in Congress aimed at promoting innovation and growth in the sector. He has also criticized the SEC’s approach to regulating cryptocurrencies in the past and has called for a more balanced and thoughtful approach to be taken.
Congressman Tom Emmer criticized SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s regulatory approach towards the crypto industry, calling him a “bad faith regulator”. He cited the example of Coinbase, which had sought compliance feedback on staking products from the SEC but received no response.
Despite several meetings with the SEC, the agency issued a Wells Notice to Coinbase on the same issues for which they had been seeking feedback. Emmer believes that the SEC is unfairly targeting the crypto industry, while bad actors in the space continue to operate freely. He advocates for a more balanced and thoughtful regulatory approach to promote innovation and growth in the sector.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler has emphasized the agency’s open door policy for crypto firms to maintain compliance with securities law. Gensler’s view is that all crypto assets, except for Bitcoin, are classified as securities and should be primarily regulated by the SEC. However, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has expressed difficulties in dealing with the SEC, and other figures such as Kraken CEO Jesse Powell have echoed similar sentiments. Despite Gensler’s call for crypto firms to register with the SEC, there are concerns that the agency’s regulatory approach may not be as friendly as it appears.
Many in the crypto community are concerned about the SEC and broader U.S. government’s ‘regulation by enforcement’ approach, which they view as anti-crypto. Congressman Emmer criticized this approach, stating that it sends a message to the broader crypto community that SEC Chair Gary Gensler is not regulating in good faith. Emmer believes that the government should serve Americans in a better way, and a more balanced regulatory approach is necessary for the growth and innovation of the crypto industry.