In recent times, the United States political wing is rooting against Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and his attitude towards the crypto sector. Joining the anti-Gensler club is now Congressman Warren Davidson who is willing to take action against the SEC chief.
On Sunday, Warren Davidson (R-OH) took to Twitter to say that he is introducing new legislation which aims to oust the SEC chief and replace him with a director. This also follows a series of what crypto industry advocates view as extrajudicial crackdowns on the sector.
The Republican leader’s recent comment adds to the criticism of the SEC and its chief by the Commissioner of SEC Hester Peirce herself. Peirce, also known as “crypto mom,” has been vocal about the agency’s war on crypto.
Gensler has repeatedly claimed his jurisdiction over the crypto sector and last year also stated that there was no reason to approach the cryptocurrency market any differently than traditional capital markets noting that “the SEC will function as the cop on the beat.” As such, he has vowed to crack down on the entire crypto industry with several sweeping enforcement actions this year.
Recently, she issued a statement on “Amending the Definition of Exchange.” She took a swipe at the SEC and Chairman Gary Gensler, stating:
Rather than embracing the promise of new technology as we have done in the past, here we propose to embrace stagnation, force centralization, urge expatriation, and welcome extinction of new technology.
Congressman Davidson is one of the growing numbers of U.S. politicians that are in agreement with the SEC commissioner and have raised their voices against discrimination. In February last year, he introduced a bill seeking to prevent any agency from inhibiting cryptocurrency usage or transactions through personal and private wallets.
A lot of lawmakers stand in agreement with the stance of Davidson and the SEC commissioner. In March this year, Representatives Patrick McHenry and Ritchie Torres revived a bipartisan bill to thwart an innovation exodus in the wake of the crypto crackdown.
While no crypto asset has been officially classified as a security in the U.S. yet, the regulatory agency has remained relentless in its war on crypto this year. The regulator has been carrying an enforcement-driven regulation approach against the industry and has been intensifying their efforts despite the criticism and resistance.
Gensler, in particular, has reiterated his authority over the sector claiming all crypto assets to be security except Bitcoin. The agency has brought under its radar numerous big-shot crypto firms including Coinbase, Paxos, and Kraken, and has accused them of selling unregistered security.
However, that is a job for Congress, not Gensler, and that is the argument a growing number of lawmakers are putting forward. A few days back, French Hill, another Republican lawmaker, criticized Gensler for his approach towards the crypto sector and urged lawmakers to immediately interfere with the legislative process. He also held Gensler and SEC’s anti-crypto approach to be driving innovation away.