SEC Chairman Gary Gensler says more investor protections are needed for bitcoin and crypto markets

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler says more investor protections are needed for bitcoin and crypto markets

The new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that more investor protections are needed in the markets for bitcoin and other crypto assets.

Chairman Gary Gensler said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that he sees the attraction to bitcoin for traders but regulation is needed to prevent fraud and other issues.

"It's a digital, scarce store of value, but highly volatile," Gensler said, talking about bitcoin specifically. "And there's investors that want to trade that, and trade that for its volatility, in some cases just because it is lower correlation with other markets. I think that we need greater investor protection there."

Gensler later added that he believes bitcoin is a "speculative" store of value and that the SEC should be "technology neutral" when it comes to innovations in markets.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have boomed since late last year, fueled by increased institutional adoption for some of the more established coins and interest from retail traders.

Bitcoin was trading above $57,000 per coin on Friday after hovering under $10,000 a year ago, while dogecoin, a digital coin that started as a joke based on a meme with a shiba inu dog, was trading near its record high.

Gensler, who previously taught classes about