Gemini CEO: SEC forced investors to buy "toxic" and "unregulated" crypto products
Date: 2023-07-03 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BLOCKCHAIN
The head of the Gemini crypto exchange, Cameron Winklevoss, said that over the past ten years, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has literally forced investors to buy "toxic" and "unregulated" crypto products.
Winklevoss criticized the SEC for consistently rejecting applications to open spot bitcoin ETFs. He recalled that it has been 10 years since Gemini applied to open its own ETF.
"The refusal to approve these products over the past decade has been a complete and absolute disaster for American investors and demonstrates how insolvent the SEC has been," he stressed.
As a result, U.S. investors had to buy "toxic products like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which trade at a huge discount" to the price of bitcoin (BTC) and charge "astronomical" fees.
In addition, the SEC's position forced investors to switch to "unlicensed and unregulated" offshore platforms, including the FTX crypto exchange. Winklevoss considers it "one of the largest financial frauds in modern history."
"Perhaps the SEC will reflect on its dismal reputation and < ... > will focus on fulfilling the mandate to protect investors," he suggested.
Earlier on Friday, June 30, the SEC said that recent applications for spot bitcoin ETFs were not "clear and comprehensive." According to the regulator, the companies could not provide enough information about how the data will be exchanged. In addition, not a single application for ETFs met the standards of the regulator.
The growing dissatisfaction with the policy of the SEC has led to the fact that in the United States they are asking to remove the head of the regulator, Gary Gensler. The Blockchain Association of the United States believes that it should not be allowed to regulate the crypto industry – the Commission has not yet formed clear rules for regulating the crypto industry. Moreover, Gensler has demonstrated a "blatant bias" towards the cryptosphere, which may prevent a fair assessment of important issues.
