Mark Uyeda called out the SEC’s actions against the crypto industry under Gary Gensler.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Commissioner Mark Uyeda recently appeared on Fox News to take shots at how the agency approaches the asset class and the firms dealing with it. He did not hold back while conveying that the approach the SEC is taking, under Gary Gensler’s leadership, has been a “disaster” because it is enforcing without providing clear rules.
“Well, I think our policies and our approach the last several years have been just really a disaster for the whole industry. We have been setting this policy through enforcement. We’ve done nothing to provide guidance on it,” Uyeda mentioned candidly.
Crypto.Com Sued the SEC for Improper Enforcement Action
The commissioner made these comments just a day after Crypto.com received a Wells Notice from the regulator and sued it in return. A Wells notice is a document the SEC sends out to firms to let them know it has finished investigations into their activities and would file a lawsuit against them.
Regarding the dispute with the exchange, he said, “I think what this Wells notice is, and while I won’t comment on the specifics of this litigation, what has gone on is part of a broader frustration with the fact that we have not provided interpretive guidance as to what you can and cannot do.” He added, “If you are involved in some securities offering, how you register, how you get regulated as a broker dealer, how you get registered as an exchange.”
Crypto.com shared Uyeda’s opinion that the SEC is sticking to enforcement rather than bringing clarity to the industry and how it tries to add the security tag to all crypto assets. The exchange mentioned that it was bringing this suit in an “unprecedented” move to “save the future of crypto.”
Chairman Gensler has repeatedly demanded crypto firms comply with securities laws. However, those laws are not practical for crypto assets. Uyeda said, “I would like to see us, for one, we need to lay out some clear guidance and interpretations on what exactly falls within and falls outside of the securities laws.”
Uyeda further admitted to the SEC’s tactics stifling innovation in the crypto space and how it could affect funding if companies are not allowed to grow. “If you are a venture capital investor, why would you put your money into a new startup with a new idea, a bright innovation with a lot of growth potential, if you cannot sell out to a bigger company?”
