Gary Gensler, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), made a series of comments related to the cryptocurrency market today on CNBC. Regarding the recently approved Ethereum spot ETFs, Gensler stated that the next step in the approval process (the S-1 filing) will take some time. Fox reporter Eleanor Terrett suggested that this may imply a slow approval process for the S-1, meaning that the Ethereum spot ETFs will take longer to be listed for trading. However, this could also be seen as positive news, indicating that the SEC is still progressing with the S-1 filings rather than outright rejection.
Additionally, Alexander Grieve, Head of Public Policy at venture capital firm Paradigm, noted that Gensler modified his previous statements during the interview, shifting from “all tokens are securities” to “tokens lack appropriate disclosure,” suggesting a softening of Gensler’s tough stance on cryptocurrencies.
When discussing the cryptocurrency market, Gensler also mentioned that traditional financial securities exchanges are subject to regulations and do not act as counterparts to investors, while cryptocurrency exchanges are doing things that are never allowed by the New York Stock Exchange or traditional exchanges.