Meet Gary Gensler, a former MIT blockchain professor who now leads the SEC and could finally regulate the volatile crypto space

  • Date: 28-Aug-2021
  • Source: Business Insider
  • Sector:Technology
  • Country:Middle East
  • Who else needs to know?

Meet Gary Gensler, a former MIT blockchain professor who now leads the SEC and could finally regulate the volatile crypto space

Washington has historically been in short supply of lawmakers and enforcers who actually understand the technology they're seeking to regulate. is among those changing that. He's the new chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, an agency that might also be responsible for creating rules in the volatile and wildly popular crypto space. But before joining in April, he taught blockchain technology at MIT — he can quote Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious Bitcoin creator, from memory, reported. So he's not against the burgeoning $1.6 trillion crypto world, but he's also called it the The once-niche decentralized currency has plunged into the mainstream in recent years, worrying regulators like Gensler who want to throw up guard rails to protect customers from fraud, scams, and market manipulation — a reality that some crypto fanatics aren't too keen on. Gensler, 63, has a background in blockchain technology and financial policy, has years of government service under his belt, and spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs, where he became a partner in the Mergers and Acquisitions department. In 2002, Gensler — a progressive — create the , which became a defining piece of legislation to protect investors from corporate fraud following high-profile scandals