On Tuesday, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler talked to the Washington Post about regulating the $2 trillion cryptocurrency industry.

However, there wasn’t much new in this interview, rather the same old take that Gensler has been repeating since his tenure as the boss of the top Wall Street regulator started in April of this year.

Still, the highlights of the conversation included Gensler talking about working with Congress to help regulate “a world of stablecoins.”

Calling them “poker chips at the casino,” he reiterated that history shows private forms of money don't last long. Additionally, he said, stablecoins are “challenging the established business models” much like “some forms” of decentralized lending.

The former Goldman Sachs executive further said platforms trading securities and offering lending products to “come in” and talk to them.

“I think that we have robust authorities” at the SEC, “and we’re going to use them and continue,” said Gensler, adding at the same time that “there are gaps” still.

Overall he believes, cryptocurrencies are “an asset class that’s highly speculative,” and “in often cases there’s not something standing behind it other than what someone will pay you for it.”

Great thread about how US securities regulations need to change.

The US has the most robust investor protection and the most developed capital markets.

How it evolves these rules will decide if the US maintains its dominance or lose the prize in the coming years. https://t.co/EHpzM8ZkWk

— SpartanBlack (@SpartanBlack_1) September 22, 2021

While Gensler continues with his harsh word, in contrast with what the crypto community has been expecting from him when he was first appointed as the SEC Chair due to him being familiar with cryptocurrencies having taught a class at MIT on the subject, the market is still hoping to see US lawmakers being mindful of not forcing the innovation abroad when regulating the nascent industry.

“Gensler's hard line is the start of a long negotiation. Classic negotiating tactics – start ultra tough then compromise,” said Raoul Pal, CEO, and founder of Global Macro Investor.

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