SEC Chair Gary Gensler Says Crypto Industry Hype Reminds Him of Dot-Com Bubble, Urges Regulation

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler says the current buzz surrounding crypto is reminiscent of the dot-com craze during the late nineties and early 2000s.

In a new prepared statement, Gensler argues that crypto’s mainstream appeal in recent Super Bowl commercials does not necessarily guarantee future success for the fledgling technology.

“​​In February, you all might have noticed Super Bowl ads for several crypto platforms. This wasn’t the first time we’d seen some new innovations getting air time on the biggest TV event of the year. Seeing these ads reminded me that, in the lead-up to the financial crisis, subprime lender AmeriQuest advertised in the Super Bowl. It went defunct in 2007. A few years before that, according to Axios, ‘Fourteen dot-com companies advertised during the 2000 Super Bowl, most of which are now defunct.’

I know many in the audience may just have been young children at the time, but the internet was relatively new back in 2000. The dot-com bubble burst, though, created significant tremors in our markets. Ads, thus, don’t equal credibility. In crypto, there is lots of innovation, but plenty of hype.”

To better separate the legitimate innovations from the hype, the SEC chair argues that stringent crypto regulations are necessary. According to Gensler, those who create cryptocurrencies should be required to register with the SEC the same way that public companies do.

“Thus, it is important that we work to get crypto tokens that are securities to be registered with the SEC. Issuers of crypto tokens that are securities must register their offers and sales of these assets with the SEC and comply with our disclosure requirements, or meet an exemption. Issuers of all kinds across a variety of markets successfully register and provide disclosures every day… 

Crypto may offer new ways for entrepreneurs to raise capital and for investors to trade, but we still need investor and market protection.”

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