SEC Will Not Follow China’s Blanket Ban on Bitcoin and Crypto Assets, Says Chairman Gary Gensler

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, says his agency is not looking to pursue a China-style crackdown on crypto assets.

In a virtual hearing with the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, Gensler says that the SEC will not ban cryptocurrencies because it is a decision that legislators would have to make.

“That would be up to Congress. What we are working with is the authority that you have given us.”

Gensler says that the US and China have fundamentally different outlooks regarding digital assets.

“I think our approach is really quite different. And it’s a matter of, how do we get this field within the investor and consumer protection that we have?

And also working with bank regulators and others, how do we ensure that the Treasury Department has it within any money laundering, the tax compliance, and of course the financial stability issues that stablecoins could raise as well?”

The SEC chairman’s comments echo those of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who recently told Congress that he doesn’t intend to ban cryptocurrencies.

Last month, China placed a ban on all crypto-related business activities including the trading of cryptocurrencies.

The ban has seen major crypto exchanges such as Binance and Huobi block new users from Mainland China. Huobi also announced that it will retire all existing user accounts from Mainland China by December 31st of this year.



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