Mark Cuban, a longtime critic of the SEC, told the attendees after the end of the meeting that Biden should fire Gary Gensler.
The roundtable meeting organized by Congressman Ro Khanna and billionaire businessman Mark Cuban saw big players in the crypto industry expressing their frustration with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) regulatory system and its chairman Gary Gensler.
Crypto Industry Executives Voice Frustration with SEC Regulations
The meeting, which was held at Willard Hotel, was attended by major leaders in the cryptocurrency industry, such as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Galaxy founder and CEO Mike Novogratz, and SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci. Anita Dunn, a senior adviser to President Biden, was also in attendance. The group met with Dunn to address the strained relationship between the crypto community and President Biden’s administration.
It was revealed that after the senior adviser’s brief speech and admitting the difficult relationship, she then listened to the attendees sharing their displeasure towards the administration, with one of the attendees bluntly telling Dunn, ‘You guys suck on crypto.’
Mark Cuban, a longtime critic of the SEC, told the attendees after the end of the meeting that Biden should fire Gary Gensler, stating that the people present at the meeting were allowed to quote him.
Discussions about the President’s choice to renominate SEC commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, known for criticizing crypto, were also held. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who was at the meeting, explained how regulating digital assets is difficult. She also talked about the new stablecoin legislation with Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, which is a step toward proper regulation.
Reactions After The Roundtable Meeting
Reacting to the meeting, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stated that Anita Dunn’s presence is a sign of progress despite her busy schedule dealing with the NATO summit and the tense period in the Biden campaign. Grewal further stated that his optimism became stronger when he walked out than when he walked in.
Similarly, Crypto Council for Innovation president Sheila Warren said that the body gesture and response by the senior adviser showed she was serious about the discussion. She stated:
“Her tone, demeanor and her body language told me that she was taking this seriously and really engaging with what people were saying..She was definitely eager to learn more.”
Cuban was also positive about the outcome of the meeting, stating that the right people from the necessary authorities were in attendance. Hence, there should be changes in how the Biden administration supports cryptocurrency.
“I think it went well,” Cuban said in an email. “The right people from the Senate, House and WH (White House) were there. I think we will see changes in how the Biden WH and the Dems in general support crypto.”
Thus, the crypto industry will be waiting with much agitation on the changes the Biden administration will be making regarding crypto regulation, just like Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has stated in his post on X, thanking Ro Khanna for organizing the meeting. He made a warning post to the administration. “Words are easy, action is hard but necessary. Choose wisely. Voters are paying attention,” he stated.
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