Gary Gensler, Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been on the agenda recently with his comments in the Bitcoin and altcoin space. Specifically, he claims that almost all cryptocurrencies are “securities” except Bitcoin (BTC). He also suggests that many of them operate indifferently. That’s why a video of the SEC Chairman praising an altcoin a few years ago started circulating on the internet. Here are the details… You can see the Bitcoin (BTC) price and detailed market data here.
SEC Chairman praised ALGO, not Bitcoin
A four-year-old video of Gary Genser, chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), praising smart contract platform Algorand is circulating on Twitter after the SEC declared ALGO a unregistered security. In the video, Gensler referred to Algorand as “great technology” while considering whether a “high-performance” smart contract network could integrate an app like Uber or Lyft onto its platform.
Gary Gensler was SHILLING $ALGO and now he’s trying to call it a security.
This dude is all over the place, and he’s gotta go ➡️ pic.twitter.com/JmpL9xAZhq
— MASON VERSLUIS (@MasonVersluis) April 17, 2023
But now, ALGO is claiming to be an unregistered security in Gensler’s case against the SEC’s crypto trading platform Bittrex on April 17, which the Algorand Foundation filed in June 2019 regarding ALGO’s initial coin offering (ICO). It became one of six tokens issued. Cryptocurrency researcher Mason Versluis was one of the first to highlight the video in a tweet on April 17 criticizing Gensler for “praising” ALGO. Others criticized the SEC chairman for his “hypocrisy.”
SEC Chairman receives great criticism
Gensler’s praise of Algorand was heard by the audience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) “Fintech Beyond Crisis” conference on April 25, 2019. Gensler, who was Professor of Global Economics and Management at MIT before becoming the SEC president, also included Silvio Micali, his former MIT colleague and founder of Algorand, in his speech. The video prompted Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran to question Gensler’s longstanding recommendation for crypto firms to register with the regulator.
“If there is a way to register, a world-renowned MIT professor who knows the SEC Chair personally could find it,” Cochran tweeted on April 17. Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett expects Gensler to be questioned over the Algorand comments when she testifies before the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on April 18. Other critics prefer to mock the current situation, highlighting the price decline of ALGO, which has seen a 93.8% drop since its launch, according to CoinGecko data.
It should be noted that ALGO didn’t launch until late June 2019, two months after Gensler’s speech. Gensler said in a tweet on April 17 that it’s been an “honour” to work with the SEC for the past two years, choosing to highlight the 1,500 enforcement actions the regulator has taken since taking office. As we reported on Kriptokoin.com, Gensler took the oath of office on April 17, 2021, after US President Joe Biden’s nomination of Gensler was approved by the Senate on April 14, 2021.
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