Has SEC Chair Gensler’s position changed after Bitcoin ETF approvals?

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, in a recent interview with CNBC on the 14th of February, highlighted a significant economic distinction between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar.

The recent approval of spot Bitcoin [BTC] ETFs and the resulting surge in prices have boosted the crypto market.

But now, there’s a big question: Is it the centralized or decentralized setup that’s making cryptocurrencies so popular?

Gensler, when remarking on the same, said, 

“You have a whole central bank, and support for one currency, generally per economic region, which is not the case with Bitcoin.”

 Will fiat dominate the crypto market? 

On the contrary, while defending the importance of fiat against Bitcoin, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stated.

“The true use case for Bitcoin is criminal, drug trafficking, money laundering, and tax avoidance.”

To this, Gensler replied,

“Bitcoin has the leading market share in ransomware, and that’s publicly known. It’s the token of choice for ransomware.”

When questioned about additional utilities for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies beyond ransomware, which draw significant interest from the public, Gensler simply responded,

“It all about speculative investing.”

Bitcoin ETFs shifting the decentralized landscape

Gary also outlined his disinterest in investors being drawn to Bitcoin ETFs and the king coin’s latest rally. He elaborated,

“We prioritize investor protection and, of course, the issuers raising money. So, this product, we’ve had similar products in gold and silver, ETFs.”

He also outlined his stance on the 11 ETF approvals, emphasizing,

“We’re merit neutral and this was not in any way like an approval of Bitcoin that existed.” 

Thus, while crypto derivatives dominate centralized exchanges, participation from DeFi platforms remains notably lacking.