Approaching the crucial audience at the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday morning, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler remains steadfast in his stance on the regulatory compliance of cryptocurrencies. He argues that this emerging industry should be governed by the same laws that oversee traditional securities such as stocks. This position comes despite recent setbacks that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has faced in the courts.
Recent Developments in Cryptocurrency Litigation
As Congress resumes its work after the summer break, it is expected that Gary Gensler will address questions regarding the outcomes of several recent court decisions that have shaped the crypto landscape. In late August, Grayscale secured a victory when a D.C. Circuit judge ordered the SEC to reconsider the asset manager’s Bitcoin ETF application.
Ripple Labs also scored a partial win a month earlier when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that some of Ripple’s XRP sales did not violate securities laws due to the existence of a blind-offer process. However, the decision also classified other direct sales of the token to institutional investors as securities, resulting in a partial victory for the SEC. This hearing follows the SEC’s lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance, accusing them of failing to register as exchanges.
In his upcoming hearing, Chairman Gensler has indicated that ongoing litigation discussions will not be addressed.
