SEC Chair Gary Gensler is a ‘bad faith regulator’: U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer

• U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer highlighted SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s unfair approach towards crypto regulation.
• The lawmaker believes that Gensler regulates the crypto industry in bad faith.

Tom Emmer, the United States Congressman from Minnesota’s sixth congressional district, appeared in an “Unchained” podcast on 7 April. During the podcast, he shared his thoughts on the current state of crypto regulation in the United States and the SEC’s approach to the crypto industry. 

Tom Emmer on enforcement actions towards crypto

Congressman Tom Emmer did not hold back while speaking about the conduct of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Chairman, Gary Gensler. According to him, Gary Gensler is a “bad faith regulator” who tends to enforce regulation on the crypto industry as a whole rather than addressing the bad actors. 

Emmer added that Gensler’s open-door policy for crypto firms was really an “enter at your own risk door,” wherein the regulator invited crypto firms to register in the interest of regulatory compliance, and then refuses to provide guidance and feedback, with some firms even facing enforcement action from the Commission. 

The U.S lawmaker, who also serves as the Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives, believes that the conduct of the SEC and Gensler sends a clear message to the border crypto community that the Chairman is not regulating in good faith.

He said:

“This guy in my mind is a bad faith regulator. He has been blindly spraying the crypto community with enforcement actions, while completely missing the true bad actors.” 

Congressman Tom Emmer cited the SEC’s treatment of Coinbase [BASE] to highlight Gensler’s unfair treatment of businesses operating in the crypto space. He revealed that despite holding several meetings with Coinbase to discuss their Earn product, the regulator refused to provide feedback. The exchange’s attempts towards regulatory compliance were ultimately met with a Wells Notice.