SEC’s Gensler says US doesn’t need digital currency due to the dollar.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chief, Gary Gensler, has stated that the United States does not require any more digital currency. This statement was made as his agency sues Binance and blockchain for operating unregistered securities exchanges.
Gensler, in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, denied claims that his approach was confusing the legal position around crypto. He also drew parallels between his case against Binance’s CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, and the criminal case against FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.
Gensler stated that the US already has digital currency, which is the US dollar. He added that over the centuries, economies and the public have not required more than one way to move value.
The SEC sued Binance on Monday and blockchain on Tuesday for offering services such as brokerage and clearing on allegedly regulated securities.
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Gensler will seek to prove that the thousands of tokens tradeable on the two of the biggest crypto venues resemble investment contracts that should have been registered with his agency, rather than mere means of payment. “All we have to show is that one of them is a security, and they should be properly registered,” he said.
Gensler said that Binance affiliate Sigma Chain had “boosted the volumes and corrupted the numbers because of the lack of controls.” He added that the public could “draw the parallels as you wish” with the case of Bankman-Fried, who is currently awaiting trial for charges including fraud, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
The SEC’s suit does not allege fraud by Zhao but asks for civil penalties alongside a permanent ban on him acting as an officer or director of any securities issuer.
Eliza Gkritsi also contributed to this report.
