Messari founder accuses SEC Chair Gensler of foul play

Messari founder Ryan Selkis accused SEC Chair Gary Gensler of acting with a conflict of interest, conspiring against the crypto industry.

“Chair Gensler is a fraud, a destructive force to our capitalist system, and a $100mm ex-banker pulling up the ladder after himself.“

The comment was made following SEC allegations that Paxos committed securities law violations over the issuance of its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin.

Crypto in the ironsights

On Feb. 9, Kraken said it was forced to end its staking program for U.S. customers following enforcement action by the SEC. The crypto exchange also disclosed paying a $30 million fine as part of the settlement deal.

SEC Commissioner Pierce clarified that the SEC does not have staking policies, meaning there are no guidelines for an exchange to meet staking compliance.

Why is the SEC targeting crypto?

Former SEC Advisor — now Policy Director at Paradigm — Justin Slaughter labeled recent events as “a divide between crypto and the SEC.” The SEC wants “to pre-clear” individual cases using current regulations, He said.

Slaughter clarified his position, saying he has recently become “less sympathetic” due to the lack of regulatory progress.

“Personally, I was pretty sympathetic to the SEC’s position five years ago (the questions posed by crypto are hard! Learning about a new space takes time), but have gotten less sympathetic since there’s been no progress on regulations over that time.“

Host of the Bankless Podcast Ryan Adams holds a different point of view of the SEC — compliance is impossible for crypto firms to achieve, he said.

“This is by design.”

Selkis not impressed

Selkis echoed Adams’ sentiment, saying he intended to end Gensler’s political career over what he deemed unjustifiable enforcement actions.

“My new goal in life is to end @GaryGensler’s political career and make him the reason Biden loses reelection.”

The Messari founder later tweeted a list of reasons why Gensler is a “disgrace,” referring to Gensler’s ties to banking, his incorrect reference to Satoshi Nakamoto and the unusual relationship the SEC had with fraudulent exchange FTX.