Congressman Ritchie Torres: SEC Chairman Gensler ‘intends to sabotage’ the crypto industry

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New York Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres doubled down on his recent criticism of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, accusing the SEC Chairman of “intent to sabotage the industry.

Speaking at the Christies Auction Houses Art + Tech Summit, Torres reiterated his comparison of Gensler to “an overzealous traffic cop who excessively picks up drivers and accuses them of speeding without telling them the speed limit, adding that the SEC was committed to a regulation-by-enforcement approach.

He continued: If you’re going to charge me with speeding, you want to tell me the speeding limit.

While the SEC argues that existing securities laws provide an appropriate framework for cryptocurrencies and that the path to registration with the regulator is clear, Torress’ words echo a common industry complaint. that this is not the case and that no clear direction has been given.

For the congressman, Washington’s largely negative stance toward crypto in Washington is “not so much ideological as it is generational.” He argued that “Congress is a kind of gerontocracy, adding that opinions about emerging technologies should play no role in their regulation.

Our role as policymakers should be to create a framework that protects customers and investors,” Torres said, adding that “it is not up to us to determine the usefulness of blockchain technology. This is a judgment that only the market can make.

The congressman noted that “there are good actors trying to do the right thing who have been the target of these enforcement actions and in some cases have been driven out of business,” arguing that government and regulators should create an environment in which “entrepreneurs are free to innovate, without facing government arbitrariness”.

The Torres Doctrine

On Tuesday, Ritchie Torres tweeted an open letter to Gensler asking if he intends to accept the folly of the Commission’s Crusade Against Crypto Assets in light of Southern District Judge Annalisa Torres’ latest ruling. from New York.

The decision Torres referenced was made last week in the Ripple vs. SEC case, which has been pending since December 2020. The regulator accuses Ripple of selling its native blockchains XRP token as unregistered security.

Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP “is not necessarily a prima facie security and that programmatic sales of XRP to the public did not violate securities laws, but some $728 million in institutional sales of XRP qualified as securities offerings because they were sold to buyers who expected to profit from a joint venture.

The judges’ decision calls into question the SEC’s argument that virtually all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin are a security.

Congressman Torres, relishing that the verdict was delivered by his namesake, hailed Analisa Torress’ verdict as the Torres Doctrine and said it sets a new precedent for future court rulings regarding crypto. .

Gensler expressed his disappointment with the judge’s decision on XRP sales to retail investors, adding that the commission, by reviewing it and evaluating this option, signals a possible legal challenge to challenge the decision. In a sign that the SEC is undeterred by its current approach, Gensler yesterday requested $72 million in additional funding to tackle the Wild West of the crypto market.

This is why he is known as the sheriff in these regions.

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