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Bitcoin is similar to gold, but Gensler stays away
Gary Gensler, former head of the US SEC, has revealed that he does not own any Bitcoin, months after handing over the reins of the securities regulator. Gensler revealed his position in a CNBC interviewnoting that he has never held BTC or other cryptocurrencies despite their growing widespread acceptance.
While Gensler did not give a clear reason for his tough stance against Bitcoin ownership, the former SEC chairman referred to the leading cryptocurrency as a “highly speculative” and “volatile asset.” SEC chairs are typically strongly discouraged from owning Bitcoin due to conflict of interest concerns, but Gensler downplayed speculation about owning BTC in the near future.
However, Gensler underlined the growing popularity of Bitcoin and noted that several retail and institutional investors are trading the cryptocurrency. The former SEC chairman compared Bitcoin’s rise in popularity to gold, hinting that the cryptocurrency may achieve the same widespread status as the precious metal.
“Bitcoin is a volatile and highly speculative asset, but 7 billion people want to trade it,” Gensler said. “Just as we had gold for 10,000 years, we have Bitcoin.”
Despite finding loopholes in the asset’s volatility, the former SEC chairman noted that Bitcoin is head and shoulders above other cryptocurrencies. He added that other altcoins must demonstrate real-world utility and solid fundamentals to remain relevant in the long term.
“These other thousands of projects need to show their use case and demonstrate that they actually have underlying fundamentals, or they won’t persist,” Gensler added.
In September, Gensler opined that aside from BTC, most cryptocurrencies are not tied to any fundamentals and are largely driven by hype. Before taking over as SEC Chairman in 2021, Gensler taught the “Blockchain and Money” course at the MIT Sloan School of Management, fueling enthusiasm for a pro-cryptocurrency stance.
Since then, however, Gensler’s time as SEC chairman has drawn fierce criticism from industry stakeholders for his reliance on regulation through enforcement, marked by lawsuits against key players in the sector. Still Gensler says he has no regrets about his handling of the SEC, despite the agency’s change of stance on digital assets under the leadership of Paul Atkin..
