Gary Gensler, the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has said again that he views proof-of-stake %Cryptocurrencies as securities that should be regulated.
Speaking to reporters, Gensler doubled down on his assertion that securities laws should apply to crypto as investors anticipate a return on their investment when they purchase digital coins and tokens that are underpinned by a proof-of-stake protocol.
“I would just suggest that each of these token operators seek to come into compliance, and the same with the intermediaries,” Gensler said to media.
Gensler’s latest remarks come as the SEC cracks down on %Stablecoins that are cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar or commodities such as gold.
There is growing speculation that the SEC means to regulate the entire crypto sector, especially after the collapse last fall of the %FTX exchange.
There is also a debate in Washington, D.C. currently about whether the SEC should regulate cryptocurrencies of if it should be the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The two regulators are at odds over which agency should take responsibility for regulating crypto markets.
Gensler has said in the past that Bitcoin is a commodity but has been reluctant to give up regulatory oversight.
The SEC chair maintains that the vast majority of the thousands of existing cryptocurrencies are securities and should be subject to the same regulations as stocks.
In September 2022, after the Ethereum blockchain upgraded to a more energy efficient proof-of-stake protocol in a process known as “the Merge,” Gensler said that proof-of-stake tokens could be investment contracts that subject them to U.S. securities laws.
Should the SEC move to blanket regulate the crypto sector, it is expected that several legal challenges would arise.
The price of %Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is up 50% so far in 2023 and trading at $24,800 U.S.