Gary Gensler, the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on Wednesday advised legislators not to adopt a bill devised to develop a new legal framework for digital currencies, saying it “would create new regulatory gaps and undermine decades of precedent regarding the oversight of investment contracts, putting investors and capital markets at immeasurable risk.”
The Republican-sponsored Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act is meant to provide regulatory clarity and help promote industry’s growth by determine which government entities have jurisdiction over which digital assets.
Gensler has said he believes that digital currencies should be required to adhere to the same laws as other assets. With the passage of this bill, he said on Wednesday, investment contracts recorded on block chains would not be considered securities and would not offer investors the protection that current securities laws mandate.
