Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, one of the ranking members of the Senate Banking Committee, has suggested Congress step in with legislation should the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) be unable to provide sufficient guidance on cryptocurrencies. In a Friday announcement from the Senate Banking Committee, the U.S. senator said he was dissatisfied with the answers SEC chair Gary Gensler had provided on the differences between securities and commodities in regards to token projects and stablecoins.
The Senator reportedly expressed disappointment in the SEC chair’s answers.
A response from Senator Pat Toomey was only the latest offering to reveal the rift between the SEC and the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. In a Friday announcement from the Senate Banking Committee, Toomey said he was dissatisfied with the answers SEC chair Gary Gensler had provided on the differences between securities and commodities in regards to token projects and stablecoins. The Senator questioned some of the SEC’s seeming disparities in enforcement actions between crypto firms and advisory services companies, including Glass Lewis, for similar allegations of providing “fraudulent and misleading information.”
U.S. Senator calls for Congress to step in.
“For investors to benefit from a fair and competitive marketplace, federal agencies should answer questions about whether — and if so, how — new and emerging technologies fit under existing regulations,” said the Senator. “Chairman Gensler’s failure to provide clear rules of the road for cryptocurrencies underscores the need for Congress to act.” Toomey has previously come out in support of the U.S. government launching a central bank digital currency and said he would vote in favor of President Joe Biden’s pick for the next Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell.
