In a recent interview, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and former MIT lecturer Gary Gensler sent a message on Bitcoin to the investor community. He also explained why he believes the current version of Bitcoin stands far away from the original vision of its mysterious creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
Bitcoin spot ETF approval is “sustainable move forward”
When asked what made the SEC finally come to a decision approving a spot exchange-traded product based on the global flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin after years of rejections, chairman Gensler said that his forerunner Jay Clayton also turned down several filings.
However, this time, according to Gensler, something has changed here. This time, Gensler emphasized, he took into consideration the recent court’s decision, presumably he referred to the cases won by Grayscale and partly won by Ripple Labs in 2023. “We move forward. I think this is the most sustainable path forward,” he added.
When CNBC host Andrew Sorkin asked whether the decision was completely influenced by the court but the SEC’s view of Bitcoin and crypto has not changed at all, Gensler preferred to avoid a precise answer, just stating that the SEC “acts within the law and within how the court interprets those laws — that’s what American people expect and that’s what we do here.”
Yuri MolchanSatoshi Nakamoto's idea of Bitcoin was different, Gensler says
When asked as a former MIT lecturer who is knowledgeable about technologies and blockchain itself about Bitcoin, the SEC chairman reminded the audience that the pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto said that Bitcoin would be a decentralized peer-to-peer payment system.
Over the years, the integration of Bitcoin has led into centralization, Gensler said, adding that there is an irony to a lot of people saying that this week was “historic” because of the spot ETF approval.
This decision was about “centralization and traditional means of finance,” which investors now can buy through major brokerage houses in the form of an ETF. Even though, before this week, these people could freely express themselves in Bitcoin, according to Gensler.
Since Wednesday, Bitcoin has lost 13.11% of its value since the glorious ETF decision, falling from above $49,000 to the $42,629 level at the time of this writing.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin
Alex Dovbnya