SEC chair Gary Gensler says stablecoins are like 'casino chips'

In his latest remarks about cryptocurrencies, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission chair, Gary Gensler, has compared stablecoins to instruments for gambling at old-timey casinos.

Stablecoins like poker chips

This came on Tuesday while Gensler spoke with David Ignatius, a columnist with Washington Post; he said several cryptocurrency projects fall under securities that SEC oversees, while the rest are better suited for the enforcement Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

He described the authority of both agencies as robust but noted that their coverage is inadequate, especially for stablecoins which could have the traits of investment contracts.

“Stablecoins are almost acting like poker chips at the casino right now.” He added that “We’ve got a lot of casinos here in the Wild West, and the poker chip is these stablecoins at the casino gaming tables.”

SEC and CFTC on Crypto

According to Gensler, both SEC and CFTC would benefit from the congress in terms of regulation and enforcement for stablecoins. However, the current laws are seemingly broad to handle a modern financial instrument like crypto.

He stated that “I do really fear that we’ll keep bringing these enforcement cases, but there’s going to be a problem. There’s going to be a problem on lending platforms, on trading platforms. Frankly, when that happens, I think a lot of people are going to get hurt.”

Recall that Gensler had hoped to introduce crypto-related policy changes that would cover token offerings, decentralized finance, stablecoins, custody, exchange-traded funds, and lending platforms back in August. For a long time, it has urged crypto projects to register with the SEC, to survive.

“The SEC boss assured that his team and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission are working tirelessly to protect investors. In collaboration with key bodies and agencies of government, SEC is hoping to establish a suitable but strict policy framework that will guide the crypto space in the US,” one of our reports reads in part.