The industry’s rebound underscores the challenge that Gary Gensler’s SEC faces as it looks to bring the business into the U.S. regulatory fold.
When one-time crypto darling FTX collapsed eight months ago under a cloud of fraud and mismanagement allegations, the digital asset industry seemed headed for a meltdown.
Now — even after the Securities and Exchange Commission launched a sweeping crackdown that ensnared some of the industry’s top players — crypto is back.
Prices are surging in the market. The industry just won a big victory in federal court against the SEC, undercutting the agency’s central claim against crypto. House Republicans have advanced a crypto-friendly bill out of committee with support from across the aisle. And even Wall Street giants like BlackRock are jumping in, proposing to offer the masses an easy way to invest in crypto.
“It’s the upside-down world of crypto,” said John Reed Stark, a former chief of the SEC’s office of internet enforcement, adding that “none of this makes any sense.”
“Why do I feel like I’m this little girl saying the emperor had no clothes, while everyone else is dancing around saying how beautiful the garment is?”
The crypto industry’s rebound illustrates the intense belief that executives and investors have in the market’s future as a crucial corner of global finance and technology. It also underscores the challenge that SEC Chair Gary Gensler faces as he looks to bring the industry into the U.S. regulatory fold.
