Today, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (NC-10), sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler. The letter requests Chair Gensler clarify his concerning and contradictory public remarks regarding the SEC’s authority to regulate the digital asset ecosystem.

 

 

Republican Leader McHenry writes: “The SEC’s ability to fulfill its mission—to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation—is closely connected to the clarity of the Commission’s communications with market participants. There are far-reaching consequences for the SEC’s decisions as to whether and how to deploy the agency’s powerful tools. For that reason, investors and other market participants expect the SEC to act based on an impartial assessment of the law and the facts as determined by the Commission, not the Chair’s impromptu public pontifications.

 

“You have made a series of concerning and apparently self-contradicting public statements regarding crypto assets and other innovative technologies. I request that you clarify these comments promptly to avoid further confusion in the marketplace.”

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“In light of the robust ongoing discussion about potential regulatory gaps within the digital asset ecosystem, your evolving statements about the SEC’s authority have caused significant confusion for market participants and stakeholders in Congress.”

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“As is the case for your statements about the SEC’s authority to regulate crypto exchanges, your inconsistent remarks about the nature of stablecoins have similarly caused confusion.”

 

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