{"id":164309,"date":"2023-09-28T11:08:27","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T05:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/?p=164309"},"modified":"2023-09-28T11:08:27","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T05:38:27","slug":"5-lowlights-of-gary-genslers-evasive-testimony-before-congress-crypto-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/5-lowlights-of-gary-genslers-evasive-testimony-before-congress-crypto-news\/","title":{"rendered":"5 lowlights of Gary Gensler’s evasive testimony before Congress – Crypto News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Blamed for \u201ckneecapping\u201d the U.S. capital markets and slammed for dodging questions around Bitcoin and Pokemon cards, Gary Gensler appears to have had one hell of a grilling from Congress this week. <\/p>\n

On Sept. 27, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission chief again found himself in front of lawmakers in a scheduled hearing to discuss his agency\u2019s oversight of the markets. <\/p>\n

Here are some of the highlights and lowlights of the hearing. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou are the Tonya Harding of securities regulations.\u201d <\/h3>\n

One of the more colorful analogies came from United States Representative Andy Barr, who accused Gensler of \u201ckneecapping\u201d the U.S. capital markets with regulatory red tape. <\/p>\n

Barr referred to an old testimony from Gensler, where Gensler argued that the U.S. is the largest, most sophisticated and innovative capital market in the world and that it shouldn\u2019t be taken for granted as \u201ceven gold medalists must keep training.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all due respect Mr. Chairman, if the U.S. capital markets are a gold medalist, you are the Tonya Harding of securities regulations,\u201d said Barr. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou are kneecapping the U.S. capital markets with the avalanche of red tape coming out of your Commission.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Barr is presumably referring to a scandal where U.S. ice skater Tonya Harding hired an assailant to attack her rival, Nancy Kerrigan, in the lead-up to the 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships and the Winter Olympics. Kerrigan ended up not competing in the U.S. championships. <\/p>\n

\n

Mr. Barr to Gensler:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the US capital markets are a gold medalist, you are the Tonya Harding of securities regulation because you are kneecapping the US capital markets\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

pic.twitter.com\/D9VOxtXAGC<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 John Dickens (@johnLdickens) September 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI wish the Biden administration would say you’re fired.\u201d<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Warren Davidson also ripped into Gensler, saying he hoped that the Biden administration would fire him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish the Biden administration would say you’re fired,\u201d said Davidson. <\/p>\n

Davidson accused Gensler of pushing a \u201cwoke\u201d political and social agenda and abusing his role as the SEC\u2019s Chair. <\/p>\n

\n

Gary Gensler\u2019s tenure at the SEC highlights two key problems. <\/p>\n

1) @GaryGensler<\/a> problem
2) @SECGov<\/a> structural problem <\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I introduced the SEC Stabilization Act to #FireGaryGensler<\/a> and restructure the SEC. pic.twitter.com\/Ud3giejKfZ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Warren Davidson (@WarrenDavidson) September 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The U.S. representative added that he hopes the SEC Stabilization Act he introduced with U.S. Representative Tom Emmer could make that happen. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re making the case for this bill [SEC Stabilization Act] every day you\u2019re acting as the Chairman,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

Gensler wasn\u2019t given the chance to respond.<\/p>\n

Gensler reiterates Bitcoin isn\u2019t a security<\/h3>\n

Asked by U.S. House Committee on Financial Services chair Patrick McHenry whether Bitcoin is a security, Gensler eventually relented, stating that Bitcoin didn\u2019t meet the Howey Test. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not meet the Howey test which is the law of the land,\u201d Gensler said, implying that Bitcoin isn’t a security.<\/p>\n

McHenry then suggested Bitcoin must be a commodity, which Gensler avoided answering, saying the test for that is outside the scope of U.S. securities laws.<\/p>\n

\n

Gary Gensler says that #Bitcoin<\/a> is NOT a security, but he refuses to say that it\u2019s a commodity. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s running out of time. When a powerhouse like BlackRock asks for a Bitcoin ETF you MUST deliver. pic.twitter.com\/yhKcMzfzx6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The \u20bfitcoin Therapist (@TheBTCTherapist) September 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Henry also suggested Gensler tried to \u201cchoke off the digital asset ecosystem\u201d and refused to be transparent with Congress about the SEC\u2019s connections with FTX and its former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.<\/p>\n

Gensler also wasn\u2019t given the chance to respond to the claims made by McHenry.<\/p>\n

Are Pokemon trading cards securities? It depends. <\/h3>\n

U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres used his time to quiz Gensler about his interpretation of what constitutes an investment contract. <\/p>\n

Torres put Gensler to the test by asking whether purchasing a physical Pokemon trading card constitutes a securities transaction.<\/p>\n

\n

I cross-examined @SECGov<\/a> Chair Gary Gensler about the term ‘investment contract’, which is key to determining his authority over crypto. <\/p>\n

Gensler struggled to answer basic questions like whether an investment contract requires a contract. His evasions are deafening and damning. pic.twitter.com\/EJcZEHiKGL<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rep. Ritchie Torres (@RepRitchie) September 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cSuppose I was to purchase a Pokemon card. Would doing so constitute a security transaction?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gensler responded \u2014 \u201cI don\u2019t know what the context is\u201d \u2014 before eventually concluding it isn\u2019t a security if it is purchased in a store. Torres then asked:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were to purchase a tokenized Pokemon card on a digital exchange via a blockchain, is that a security transaction?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d have to know more,\u201d replied Gensler. <\/p>\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>Coinbase crypto lobbying campaign to focus on 4 swing states <\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Gensler then explained that it\u2019s when the investing public can anticipate profits based upon the efforts of others \u2014 that\u2019s the core of the Howey Test. Representative Torres called Gensler’s “evasions” as “deafening and damning.”<\/p>\n

A sign of defiance<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, among the back-and-forth cross-examinations between Gensler and U.S. Representatives, eagle-eyed observers noticed a Coinbase \u201cStand With Crypto\u201d logo behind the SEC Chair.<\/p>\n

\n

BREAKING: Coinbase Stand with Crypto logo displayed at Gary Gensler hearing pic.twitter.com\/IAwqyDEQea<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Miss Teen Crypto (@missteencrypto) September 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Coinbase-led initiative is a 14-month-long campaign that launched in August. It aims to push for cryptocurrency legislation in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Coinbase also ran a \u201cStand with Crypto Day,\u201d which took place in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 27 to advocate for better cryptocurrency innovation and policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Magazine: <\/em><\/strong>Binance, Coinbase head to court, and the SEC labels 67 crypto-securities: Hodler\u2019s Digest, June 4-10<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blamed for \u201ckneecapping\u201d the U.S. capital markets and slammed for dodging questions around Bitcoin and Pokemon cards, Gary Gensler appears to have had one hell of a grilling from Congress this week. On Sept. 27, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission chief again found himself in front of lawmakers in a scheduled hearing to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[235,203,210,234,231,232,237,238,236,233],"class_list":["post-164309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blockchain","tag-bitcoin","tag-crypto-currency","tag-elon-musk","tag-ethereum","tag-hyperledger","tag-ibm","tag-mining","tag-nodes","tag-spacex","tag-tesla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164309"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164312,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164309\/revisions\/164312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}