Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler asked lawmakers to increase his agency’s enforcement budget as he aims to require cryptocurrency trading platforms to register with the SEC.
Many cryptocurrency trading platforms are trading securities rather than commodities under the SEC’s definition and should register with the agency, Gensler told members of the House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee on Wednesday.
“They’re investment contracts,” Gensler said. “They’re securities. We’re trying to work with the crypto trading platforms to get them registered.”
Gensler said cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin come from one main issuer, unlike traditional commodities.
“A commodity, when you think of ...