WATCH: Gary Gensler Makes Bold Claims About Bitcoin

February 14, 2024 9:53 pm Comments

Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Gary Gensler recently appeared on CNBC to make several bold claims about Bitcoin.

The head of the SEC claimed that Bitcoin was not decentralized because a high volume of Bitcoin trading is done through centralized exchanges. Gensler never mentioned decentralized exchanges.

Moreover, how a particular commodity trades has nothing to do with its intrinsic properties. No exchange is needed, centralized or otherwise, to transfer Bitcoin between wallets.

Gensler then claimed that Bitcoin is essentially fueling ransomware attacks—nothing could be further from the truth.

However, CNBC’s Joe Kernan defended the decentralized currency during the show; take a look:

Watcher Guru took note and dissected Gensler’s statement:

In that statement, he called Bitcoin “a speculative, volatile asset that is also used for illicit activity including ransomware, money laundering, sanction evasions, and terrorist financing.”

Additionally, he was certain to make the distinction that the investment product approvals were not an approval or endorsement of Bitcoin as an asset.

PlanB writes: “SEC Gary Gensler says bitcoin blockchain is just an Oracle database. Is he dumb, or just playing dumb? Bitcoin’s entire solution to the double spending / Byzantine general problem is based on the difference between BTC PoW blockchain versus normal databases.”

Cryptopolitan touched on the other claim Gensler made via his recent CNBC appearance:

When the CNBC interviewer floated the term “decentralization” in the midst of their dialogue, aiming to cast Bitcoin in the usual revolutionary light, Gary Gensler didn’t just disagree; he practically cut him off with a blunt, “Uh, it’s not that decentralized.”

Join the conversation!

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.