ANALYSIS: Gensler Shares SEC’s Crypto Power Play

Cryptocurrency has driven a digital armored truck through the gaps in the U.S. financial regulation regime—and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler made plain in his speech to the Aspen Security Forum Aug. 3 that he has had enough. Gensler feels the mostly unregulated $1.6 trillion cryptocurrency market needs strong oversight and, unsurprisingly, sees the agency he leads as the one to do it.

In his speech, Gensler spoke about five regulatory problems he sees with crypto and the new legal powers he is seeking from Congress to monitor crypto exchanges. His ultimate goal is to bring an end to the industry’s ...