SEC Chairman Explains Why He Views All Crypto Tokens Other Than Bitcoin as Securities

In an interview published by New York Magazine’s Intelligencer, Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), explained why all crypto tokens except bitcoin are securities.

Gensler believes the securities watchdog has all the legal tools necessary to monitor the crypto sector. The publication also stated that the SEC boss said that almost every type of crypto transaction falls under its jurisdiction, except for spot transactions in Bitcoin and actual purchases or sales of goods or services using cryptocurrencies.

According to a quote from the chairman of SEC, he said:

You can find everything other than bitcoin. A website can be found. Entrepreneurs might have their legal entities set up in an offshore tax haven. Foundations might also be available. Lawyers might help them to arbitrage or make it difficult jurisdictionally.

Gensler said that they might initially drop their tokens overseas and then pretend or contend that it will take six months for them to return to the U.S. Gensler did not name specific cryptocurrencies. He emphasized:

These tokens are securities at their core because they have a group in it. The public anticipates profits based upon that group.

A number of people disagreed with Gensler’s assertion that all crypto tokens, other than Bitcoin, are securities. Jake Chervinsky, a lawyer, tweeted:

Although Chair Gensler might have believed that all digital assets, except bitcoin, are security, his opinion is not the law.

Chervinsky stressed that the SEC does not have authority to regulate any asset until it has proven its case in court. Logan Bolinger, another lawyer said the same thing on Twitter: “In this country judges – and not SEC chairs — ultimately decide what the law means, and how it applies. His thoughts are not irrelevant, however. They are not necessarily dispositive.