Amid US crypto crackdown, lawmakers slam SEC Chair Gensler for driving firms to China as Hong Kong courts industry
- Republican representative Tom Emmer accused the SEC chair of ‘pushing American firms into the hands’ of China’s Communist Party
- During a hearing on Tuesday, several lawmakers criticised a lack of regulatory clarity, but Gensler said the crypto industry is rife with noncompliance
A Republican lawmaker has slammed US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler over policies that the congressman said are sending crypto firms to China and “into the hands” of the Communist Party, in a searing rebuke on the House floor that comes as Hong Kong courts overseas crypto firms in a bid to become a virtual asset hub.
“Your regulatory style lacks flexibility and nuance, and as a result, you’ve been an incompetent cop on the beat, doing nothing in protecting everyday Americans and pushing American firms into the hands of the CCP,” congressman Tom Emmer, a House representative from Minnesota, told Gensler during a Financial Services Committee hearing on Tuesday.
Emmer is one of four co-chairs on the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and one of the body’s biggest crypto advocates, saying the US needs to pursue policies that ensure crypto reflects “American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free market competitiveness”.
He is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of financial contributions from the crypto industry. During the 2022 election season, he was the fifth-largest recipient of contributions from crypto companies, pulling in US$90,516, according to figures compiled by Open Secrets.
The SEC also looks to be readying action against Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US, as the company said it received a Wells notice about potential enforcement action from the regulatory agency.
