Gary Gensler is the Chairperson of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Yesterday, he testified before the US House Committee On Financial Services on a number of subjects. We here at The Chainsaw watched all five hours of it so you don’t have to. Consider this a gift because Gensler’s ramblings were torture like no other.
Who is Gary Gensler?
Gensler’s regulatory approach and his track record in the financial industry have made him a polarising figure. As overlord of the SEC, Gensler has been accused of having an overly tough stance on crypto regulation. Many crypto industry executives claim that his policies stifle innovation and impede economic growth.
For example, under Gensler, the SEC has dragged Ripple to court, saying that their cryptocurrency XRP, has broken rules (which seemingly don’t even exist for crypto yet).
If Ripple lose the case, they have said that they will simply move their business offshore to a more favourable environment, like Dubai or Zurich, places which have a clear regulatory framework.
Gensler is accused of having different rules for different crypto businesses, overreaching on some (like XRP) while getting cosy with others like FTX while it conned investors and collapsed under Gensler’s watch, taking $US32B (AU$47.5) with it.
Gensler considers himself a champion of investor protection. But most of the crypto industry see him as an obstacle to economic progress.
Yesterday, it became clear that Gensler’s blathering responses and weird tangents demonstrated that he was struggling to even answer a single question. When pressed, he broke into strange waffling stories about his Dad selling vending machines… or something… weird.
In fact, some even made the move to dispose him of his position.
In short, the guy is not well liked or considered fair within crypto circles. So there were plenty of joyful moments for the haters.
Top Three Times People Yelled at Gary Gensler
Majority Whip Tom Emmer: “I am reclaiming my time!”
Majority Whip Tom Emmer got absolutely fed up with Gensler’s blathering non-answers, and yelled at him more than once, “I am reclaiming my time!”
We all need to keep this phrase up our sleeves when not getting a straight answer.
Huizenga: Unacceptable, Insufficient, and Embarrassing
Congressman Bill Huizenga toally roasted Gensler and was so incensed by Gensler’s inability to answer any of his questions that he sent out a big fat press release about it. But watch the exchange first.
When asked to send evidence to Congressman Bill Huizenga of claims the SEC had made, Gensler sent a letter from Huizenga right back to him.
Said Huizenga, “The most interesting and frankly dumbest example of this that we received to date is the copy of a letter that myself and Chairman McHenry sent you congratulating you as being confirmed as Chair in 2021. I have that one in my file already. Frankly it is insufficient and unacceptable what has been going on. I think it is an embarrassment to you and to your team that you sent me a copy of the letter that I sent you and then try to call that responsive? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
Congressman Patrick McHenry: I think ‘no’ should be a very simple answer for you here.
Congressman Patrick McHenry tried his very best to get an answer out of Gensler that wasn’t a pure stream of nonsense. But he failed.
All McHenry wanted to know was if Ether was a commodity or a security. “This should be no shock to you. I’m asking this question. Is it an is ether a commodity, or security? I think that uncertainty is bad is it not?”
Still, no answer.
The great hope is that humans on this planet do not have to suffer any more of Gary Gensler’s nonsense answers. Because if any of us have to listen to him any more, we may all come to the conclusion that he doesn’t ever answer anything directly because HE DOESN’T UNDERSTAND CRYPTO.
Imagine that.
