The crypto community called Gary Gensler a hypocrite for his statements about cryptocurrencies in 2018

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The cryptocurrency community is discussing a 2018 video in which SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stated that three-quarters of the cryptocurrency market is not a security.

We are talking about the performance of Gary Gensler (GaryGensler when he was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), several years before being confirmed as chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). At the “Blockchain and Money” seminar, Gensler noted that ICOs could raise controversy about securities, but concluded that more than half of cryptocurrencies cannot be called securities. According to Gensler, the cryptocurrency markets in the US, Canada and Taiwan follow certain rules similar to the Howey test.

“Three quarters of the market are not securities. It’s just a commodity, cash, cryptocurrencies,” Gensler said at the time.

This video caused a wave of outrage incrypto community. Some users called the SEC chairman a hypocrite for accusing cryptocurrency companies of fraud instead of facing prosecution himself. Others demanded that Gensler explain why his opinion on cryptocurrencies has changed, since he recently stated that all crypto assets except Bitcoin are classified as securities.

American lawyer Preston ByrneByrne noted that the positions of a professor and the chairman of the SEC are completely different, so Gensler did not have to adhere to the same views when he worked at MIT. Another lawyer disagreed, saying Gensler's interpretation of the Howey test should not change because of a job change. In response, Byrne gave an example: When he talks to clients, he thinks about the law, how law enforcement will interpret it, and what the law should be. Now Gensler is limited by the fact that he can give only one answer due to his official position, the lawyer explained.

Let us recall that the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase recently filed a lawsuit against the SEC, accusing the agency of deliberate inaction and unwillingness to clarify the rules for regulating the industry.