Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler stated in a Friday morning interview with CNBC that the introduction of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds is ironic since it contradicts Satoshi Nakamoto‘s goal of decentralization.
Proposing a “system for electronic transactions without relying on trust,” Nakamoto, the still-unknown and pseudonymous cryptocurrency developer, released the famed Bitcoin whitepaper in 2008.
“There’s an irony in the midst of this, Satoshi Nakamoto said this was going to be a decentralized system and finance, and this has led to centralization,” Gensler told CNBC.
Gensler made his remarks after his organization authorized many spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, the chair promptly clarified that this did not imply that the SEC supported or approved Bitcoin. Since they started trading on Thursday, spot bitcoin ETFs have cleared $6 billion in total volume.
Gensler claimed there are advancements in the field surrounding the ledger system. Gensler formerly taught blockchain at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“No doubt there are innovations within this field, and those innovations, which I taught about at MIT around a ledger system, are just an accounting system called blockchain technology,” Gensler stated.
Warren criticized the SEC for authorizing spot bitcoin ETFs by saying, “The @SECgov is wrong on the law and wrong on the policy with respect to the Bitcoin ETF decision.”
In addition to expressing his “deep respect for those who may have been on the other side of this,” Gensler said he also respects the law.
