Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler has reiterated that cryptocurrencies, despite growing political attention under the Trump administration, remain highly speculative volatile assets that most investors still misunderstand.
What Happened: In a new Bloomberg interview, Gensler emphasized that most digital tokens, excluding Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and dollar-backed stablecoins, lack fundamental value drivers such as cash flows, dividends, or intrinsic economic utility.
He warned that retail investors must not confuse political narratives with actual financial risk, insisting crypto is not a partisan issue but a matter of safeguarding U.S. capital markets.
Addressing the rise of Bitcoin ETFs, Gensler noted that financial markets naturally gravitate toward centralized structures over time.
He said the shift toward ETF-based access mirrors how investors approach commodities like gold and silver, an ironic development given crypto's decentralized origins.
Why It Matters: Gensler's stance has remained consistent through his tenure and departure from the SEC.
- In September 2025, he warned that 5,000–10,000 tokens lacked fundamentals, calling them risky for uninformed investors.
- He defended his regulatory approach, arguing that SEC enforcement had surfaced multiple frauds, including high-profile failures like that of Sam Bankman-Fried.
- Gensler criticized the Trump-appointed SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, for later dismissing several pending crypto cases.
In his January 2025 exit interview, he described Bitcoin as not a security but still a "highly speculative, volatile asset."
Yet he acknowledged that with global demand, BTC's role could evolve in the future.
Despite his skepticism, Gensler has repeatedly argued that innovation cannot survive without trust, and that investor protection and technological advancement are not mutually exclusive.
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