Former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler has reiterated his position that Bitcoin stands apart from the majority of digital tokens, describing most of the market as “highly speculative” during a Bloomberg interview on Tuesday.
Gensler singles out bitcoin
Gensler noted that Bitcoin is closer to a commodity, distinguishing it from thousands of other tokens.
He stated that most tokens do not offer “a dividend” or “usual returns,” signaling risks for investors. Gensler explained:
“All the thousands of other tokens, not the stablecoins that are backed by US dollars, but all the thousands of other tokens, you have to ask yourself, what are the fundamentals? What’s underlying it… The investing public just needs to be aware of those risks.”
Enforcement record and industry reaction
During his tenure as SEC Chair from April 2021 to January 2025, Gensler led an aggressive enforcement campaign targeting major industry players.
Actions included lawsuits against exchanges such as Coinbase for operating as unregistered exchanges and brokers, as well as shutting down staking programs like Kraken’s and imposing penalties.
These moves drew significant backlash from the digital asset industry, which viewed the actions as overly harsh.
Political dimension dismissed
When asked about the politicization of the digital asset debate, particularly references to the Trump family’s involvement, Gensler rejected the idea that regulatory action is partisan.
He argued that fairness and commonsense rules are central to US capital markets:
“When you buy and sell a stock or a bond, you want to get various information, and the same treatment as the big investors. That’s the fairness underpinning US capital markets.”
Bitcoin ETFs and market structure
Gensler addressed the trend towards centralization in finance, noting it is a long-standing pattern.
He pointed out that, during his leadership, the first US Bitcoin futures ETFs were approved, further integrating Bitcoin with traditional financial markets.
