Bitcoin bulls found themselves supported as Gary Gensler, head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), confirmed in Washington on Tuesday that America’s securities regulator doesn’t intend to ban cryptocurrencies.
Gensler said at a hearing of the House Committee that regulation of crypto is not within its mandate.
“Many of these tokens do meet the test of being an investment contract, or a note, or a security,” Gensler said. He added, however, that crypto does need to be brought into the investor protection remit of the SEC.
It indicates that the United States won’t be quick to follow China’s lead in clamping down on crypto.
The hearing comes as Bitcoin continued higher, adding 3.4% onto recent gains to trade at US$51,473 in Wednesday morning’s deals – it is now up around 21% in the past seven days.
Ethereum similarly held positive ground, up 2% changing hands at US$3,458.
Cardano continued to be left behind in the rally with the ADA token priced at US$2.19, down 1.2%.
Solana was down 6% at around US$156 and Dogecoin was up 8.5% at 25.61 cents.
The hearing in Washington also focussed on ‘stablecoins’ which are digital asset designed to mimic underlying fiat currencies such as the dollar and are used by crypto traders to step-out of volatility without going to real-world cash.
Gensler noted that he saw financial stability issues that could be raised by the use of stablecoins.