Garlinghouse’s comments come in the wake of Gensler’s recent statements about widespread non-compliance in the crypto industry. The regulator highlighted the harmful consequences of these actions for individuals, which often lead to bankruptcy without adequate remedies.
Gensler said:
“There is a lot of non-compliance in the crypto space. It undermines trust when so many people are injured and all they can do is stand in line for bankruptcy court. Moreover, this can make it difficult for actors in good faith to compete.”
In response, Garlinghouse accused Gensler of being a hypocrite, noting that the head of the SEC had “engaged in the largest fraud in recent history.”
He also alleged that Gensler’s actions have harmed consumers and eroded the integrity of the SEC while maintaining close ties to Wall Street.
Meanwhile, this is not the first example of Garlinghouse’s criticism of Gensler. In previous remarks, he compared Gensler’s approach to that of an autocrat and urged Congress to take note of his behavior.
Gensler’s crypto stance
However, Chairman Gensler has consistently defended his position that current securities laws are sufficient for the crypto industry, a position reflected in the SEC’s denial of Coinbase’s request for new regulations.
Under Gensler, the Commission took several legal actions against major crypto companies such as Coinbase and Binance, alleging that their activities violated securities law. Furthermore, in many of its legal actions, the regulator has labeled several large-cap cryptocurrencies such as Solana, Cardano and Polygon as crypto security tokens.
Community members denounce SEC
The broader crypto community expresses solidarity with Garlinghouse’s sentiments and views Gensler as a primary opponent of the nascent industry.
Gensler’s strict regulatory approach to the crypto industry has drawn criticism from stakeholders who have highlighted how the SEC extended decades-old securities laws to emerging crypto finance models such as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Figures such as Dogecoin founder Billy Markus in particular have done this echoed these concerns, highlighting the lack of clear rules for the emerging sector.
