Gensler seeks Warren’s help in crypto exchange crackdown

The SEC chairman tells Sen. Warren that lawmakers should give watchdogs clear powers to write rules for exchanges, including DeFi trading venues.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler is turning to Sen. Elizabeth Warren for help as he seeks to clamp down on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Gensler, who’s repeatedly rung alarm bells over the platforms during his four-month tenure, told Warren in an Aug. 5 letter that regulators need more resources to protect investors. He also said lawmakers should give watchdogs clear powers to write rules for exchanges, including decentralized finance, or DeFi, trading venues.

“We need additional authorities to prevent transactions, products and platforms from falling between regulatory cracks,” he wrote in response to questions from Warren about his plans for policing the industry.

Gensler, who previously taught classes on digital assets at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has disappointed crypto fans by saying he wants to bring the asset class under the government’s watchful eye. He told Warren that he is particularly worried about so-called stablecoins, which play an integral part in trading.

[More: Congress should expand SEC oversight of crypto’s ‘Wild West’: Gensler]

For her part, Warren signaled she’ll be a willing ally in asserting more control over digital assets.

“Cryptocurrency is the wild west of our financial system and desperately needs rules of the road,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement. “I’m going to continue to engage with the SEC and other federal regulators on this, and will work to close regulatory gaps through legislation.”