“He also has made it clear that he wants to control cryptocurrency. As clear as it gets. He aspires to be Cryptoville’s sheriff,” says Mike Novogratz CEO of Galaxy digital.
Gary Gensler, the newly appointed chairman of the Securities & Exchange Board, did not attend the Messari Mainnet conference in New York this week, but he was everywhere, conducting a live interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, in which he called cryptocurrencies “a highly speculative asset class.” On Tuesday, his comments contributed to a crypto market correction.
When asked about Gensler during a conference panel on Wednesday morning, Novogratz was clear. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Gary is brilliant,” claimed the billionaire investor and Bitcoin bull.
“He also has made it clear that he wants to control cryptocurrency. As clear as it gets. He aspires to be Cryptoville’s sheriff.”
Gensler also used his Post interview on Tuesday to persuade D.C. lawmakers that the SEC is the appropriate organization to supervise the embryonic $2 trillion crypto market and the loan mechanisms that are driving it forward.
“It’s highly likely that [lending platforms] have thousands of tokens, and it’s highly likely that they have securities investment contracts or notes or others that fit the definition of a security on these platforms,” Gensler concluded, concluding that “there will be a problem on lending platforms or trading platforms.”
The SEC has recently stretched its power, purportedly pressuring Coinbase to scrap its Lend product before it could go live; Coinbase had planned to use the project to provide high-yield returns on specific cryptocurrencies held by the exchange.
Several state securities regulators have issued cease-and-desist letters and other enforcement proceedings to Celsius and BlockFi, which run their own high-yield crypto interest accounts, including in the businesses’ home state of New Jersey.
But, at least for the time being, Novogratz isn’t focusing on crypto financing. His most recent goal is to have a U.S. crypto ETF (exchange-traded fund) approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has yet to do so.
Galaxy Digital teamed up with Invesco, a major investment management business, to file a new Bitcoin ETF proposal this week. Because they move like stocks and integrate seamlessly into retirement portfolios, ETFs are the holy grail of crypto investing.
“Ubiquity is going to allow us to move to the next level,” Novogratz said on the panel, referring to the improved liquidity and decreased volatility that comes with more individuals.
Furthermore, Novogratz is unconcerned about squandering his time. During the discussion, he mentioned that he’s looking to recruit someone who can communicate with lawmakers in D.C. and teach them about cryptocurrency.
He stated, “The SEC will get there.” “I’m certain. I’m not sure when they’ll arrive, but I’m confident they will.”