As Trump's inauguration day approaches, Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is also nearing the end of his four-year term and will accept an interview with Bloomberg on January 9th to discuss the various tasks and achievements accomplished during his tenure. Although Gensler acknowledges that there has been no shortage of external criticism and pressure during his term, he states that this job is a tremendous honor, including strengthening regulation of the cryptocurrency market and combating related financial fraud.
Gensler was the first to thank current U.S. President Joe Biden for his trust, stating that it is a tremendous honor to serve in this role. Gensler pointed out that the SEC is responsible for overseeing capital markets worth up to $120 trillion, which are crucial to the global economy. Regarding external criticism and public pressure, he mentioned that this is part of the democratic process: 'Once you enter the realm of national public policy, you must face this criticism; it is an unavoidable part of democratic policy.'
During his tenure, he promoted policies to improve market efficiency, significantly shortening settlement periods.
Gensler also reflected on several major changes that enhanced the efficiency of financial markets, including reducing the stock settlement period from two business days to one. He stated, 'This may seem like a technical detail, but it directly helps investors receive their funds faster.' Additionally, Gensler mentioned promoting new regulations for data privacy protection, requiring companies to notify users promptly in the event of a data breach, demonstrating that the SEC is committed to protecting investors' rights.
He likened the cryptocurrency market to the Wild West, where many challenges still exist.
Gensler's description of the cryptocurrency market is quite direct, likening it to the 'Wild West' of America's pioneering era. He noted that during his tenure, the number of enforcement cases related to cryptocurrency at the SEC increased from 80 to over 100. Gensler pointed out that while mainstream cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin occupy a large market share, there are still thousands of tokens that represent high-risk investments. He further stated, 'Many are even scams or Pump and Dump schemes.' He admitted that the cryptocurrency market still has many unknown challenges, and a portion of investors still lack crisis awareness.
Strengthening climate risk disclosure regulations in response to market demand.
During Gensler's tenure, the SEC also introduced new regulations regarding climate risk disclosure. He emphasized that this is in response to market demand, with over 60% of large U.S. companies actively providing data related to greenhouse gas emissions. Gensler stated that the SEC's goal is simply to make these disclosures more consistent and transparent, only requiring companies to provide greenhouse gas emission data, without involving supply chain-related data.
The transition from academic researcher to SEC enforcer.
Facing external criticism regarding his transition from academic research on cryptocurrency to being a government enforcer, Gensler responded: 'While my academic expertise lies in exploring the value of this technology, at the SEC, this is a law enforcement agency, and my responsibility is to protect investors' rights.' He added that the SEC's regulatory work on cryptocurrency aims to guide the market towards more compliant practices.
(Trump nominated Paul Atkins as SEC Chairman; Bitcoin at 99K, ETH over 3,800)
This article on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's countdown to the end of his term: thanking Biden for the honor, the Wild West-like cryptocurrency market still needs stronger regulation first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.