SEC Chairman Gary Gensler: Stablecoins are like poker chips on the gambling table.

During an interview with David Ignatius, a columnist for The Washington Post, on Tuesday, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler described the development of cryptocurrencies as "the Wild West" and referred to stablecoins as tools for gambling in an old-fashioned casino.

The Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, described the development of cryptocurrencies as "the wild west" and likened stablecoins to tools used in old-fashioned gambling during an interview with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius on Tuesday. Gensler stated that the vast majority of projects in the crypto space fall within the SEC's regulatory purview as securities, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is better suited for enforcement in other projects.

"Stablecoins are like poker chips in a casino right now. We have a lot of casinos in the Wild West, and these stablecoins are the poker chips on the casino's gambling tables," Gensler said.

Gary Gensler suggested that both the SEC and CFTC would benefit from congressional help in regulating stablecoins. "I am really worried that we will keep bringing these enforcement actions because problems will arise with lending platforms, trading platforms. Frankly, when that happens, I think a lot of people will get hurt," he added.

According to Gensler, the legal reach into the crypto space is broad, with any modern financial instrument related to crypto potentially coming under SEC scrutiny at any time.

Just as the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, recently announced it would abandon its crypto lending program, as the SEC threatened legal action against the exchange, deeming the program a security.

While Gensler praised Satoshi Nakamoto for creating Bitcoin, stimulating innovation, and changing the way central banks and the private sector handle payment systems, he emphasized the importance of proactive crypto regulation.

Gensler also repeatedly stated in the interview that in the long run, private forms of currency are not viable. He compared cryptocurrencies to the 19th-century wildcat banking era, saying, "History tells us that private forms of money don't last long. I don't think 5,000 or 6,000 private forms of money will survive in the long run."

This article is authorized to be reprinted from Horizon News Network.