Kraken move should put crypto industry ‘on notice,’ says Gary Gensler

• Gary Gensler says the agency’s action against crypto exchange Kraken yesterday should put people “on notice.

• He added that crypto companies should take note and come into compliance.

• The crypto space needs laws to protect the investing public.

The crypto space needs regulation, says Gensler

Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), told CNBC in an interview earlier today that the cryptocurrency space needs regulation to protect investors.

“The storefronts and casinos people are investing in need to comply and disentangle bundled products. The business model is rife with conflicts,” says SEC Chair @GaryGensler on #crypto. “If this field has a chance of survival, it needs laws to protect the investing public.” pic.twitter.com/FGRrYE1Aov

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) February 10, 2023

Gensler mentioned this following the regulatory agency’s recent crackdown on the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange. 

On Tuesday, Kraken announced that it was ending crypto-staking services to settle with the U.S. SEC. while commenting on this latest cryptocurrency news, Gensler said;

“This really should put everyone on notice in this marketplace whether you call it lend, whether you call it earn, whether you call it yield, whether you offer what’s called an annual percentage yield, APY.”

 Gensler added that cryptocurrency intermediaries should provide proper disclosures and safeguards required by our securities laws when offering cryptocurrency services like lending and staking.  He added that;

“Those other platforms should take note of this and seek to come into compliance.”

 SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce disagrees with Gensler’s move

Hester Pierce, one of the most popular SEC commissioners, disagreed with the decision by the agency following the Kraken deal. The crypto-friendly commissioner stated that;

“Using enforcement actions to tell people what the law is in an emerging industry is not an efficient or fair way of regulating. Moreover, staking services are not uniform, so one-off enforcement actions and cookie-cutter analysis does not cut it. A paternalistic and lazy regulator settles on a solution like the one in this settlement.”

Gensler replied that for decades, the SEC had used tools provided by Congress to protect the investing public. He added that if somebody is breaking the law, or noncompliant, the agency can use enforcement to protect investors. 

Some crypto experts called the move by the SEC a bad sign for staking as a service as it is currently offered to investors in the United States. 

Earlier this year, the SEC charged Gemini and Genesis with offering and selling unregistered securities via the Gemini Earn lending program.