SEC chief Gary Gensler to face Congress grilling over crypto policy
The chair of the Financial Services Committee said its primary focus would be setting the groundwork for crypto regulations in the United States.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chief Gary Gensler is set to testify before the House Financial Services Committee for the first time.
In an interview, Representative Patrick McHenry, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, confirmed that the SEC chief would have to face questions on April 18 over his approach toward the crypto ecosystem.
#NEW: Chairman @PatrickMcHenry confirms @SECGov Chair Gary Gensler will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on April 18th.
Republicans will hold @GaryGensler accountable for his flagrant disregard for the law, jurisdiction, and the APA.
— Financial Services GOP (@FinancialCmte) March 28, 2023
The House Financial Services Committee has jurisdiction over all aspects of the U.S. financial services sector, including banking, securities and digital assets.
During his interview, McHenry noted that it would be the first oversight hearing of the SEC. The hearing will be focused on Gensler’s rulemaking and approach toward crypto assets. He added that the committee will have sizeable general oversight over the SEC and would take a serious approach in terms of “laying down a regulatory sphere for digital assets.”
SEC chief’s approach towards crypto has turned many heads over the years, and many from the Democrat party have voiced their concern against his approach. Many in the crypto industry believe that the party’s anti-crypto stance could be disastrous for its 2024 election campaign.
Related: Crypto reform coming to US in 2023, says former White House chief of staff
Dennis Porte, the co-founder of the Satoshi act fund, said that many pro-crypto and pro-Bitcoin Democrats are lining up to voice their opposition to their own party’s stance.
Pro-Crypto & Pro-#Bitcoin Democrats are lining up to voice their opposition to their own party’s stance.
Democrats are on the verge driving their own voters away and losing support from this important new voter block. In my opinion it could cost Democrats the 2024 election. pic.twitter.com/3kZkTOAjhz
— Dennis Porter (@Dennis_Porter_) March 27, 2023
The U.S. regulators have taken a hard stance in crypto with the start of 2023, with the SEC issuing Wells notice to a number of crypto firms including Coinbase and BUSD. On the other hand, CFTC has filed a new lawsuit against Binance. However, the crypto fraternity has always pointed to the fact that regulations would be decided by Congress and not individual agencies.
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