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Homepage > News > Business > Gensler grilled over SEC ‘crypto’ regulatory overreach All five United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioners, including Chair Gary Gensler, faced a fierce grilling from representatives of the House Financial Services Committee on September 24 during a heated hearing on SEC oversight. Stablecoin legislation was also up for discussion, with Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) calling for a “grand bargain” and warning that time is running out to get a deal done. The much-anticipated hearing saw testimony from Gensler and Commissioners Hester Peirce, Caroline Crenshaw, Mark Uyeda, and Jamie Lizarraga—the first time all five commissioners had testified together since 2019. Critics amongst the Representatives, chiefly Republicans, ensured they took this rare opportunity to take the witnesses to task over the SEC’s handling of digital asset regulation. Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) set the tone from the start, calling out Gensler for what he saw as regulatory overreach. “Chair Gensler’s legacy will be defined by turning the once proud institution of the SEC into a rogue agency,” said McHenry, who went on to accuse the SEC of enforcing regulations “often without adequate justification, economic analysis, or public engagement.” The SEC’s supposedly heavy-handed ‘regulation by enforcement’ approach has been the subject of sustained criticism throughout Gensler’s tenure as SEC chair. Meanwhile, Gensler has consistently argued that existing regulations are sufficient to account for digital assets and that the Howey Test is sufficient to establish whether an asset is a security. According to the Howey Test, an asset can be classified as an “investment contract” and, therefore, subject to U.S. securities law if it is: an investment of money; in a common enterprise; with an expectation of profits solely from the efforts of others. However, during the September 24 hearing, Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) questioned Gensler’s…

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Filed under: News - @ September 27, 2024 1:25 pm