Billionaire and crypto advocate Mark Cuban criticized the Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for his suppression of the industry, saying that FTX and Three Arrows Capital (3AC) would still be operating if it were not for the US regulator.
SEC Chairman Under Fire for Crypto Crackdown
Mark Cuban recently joined two podcasts on Thursday to discuss industry-related topics, including the US election, crypto adoption, and the regulatory environment of the SEC. The billionaire criticized the US regulator and its chairman, Gary Gensler, for their “coercive control” of the sector.
In an interview with Farokh Sarmad, Cuban emphasized his long-standing dissatisfaction with the Commission, saying he’s “a big fan of bright rules” rather than “regulating through litigation.”
The crypto lawyer criticized the lack of transparency of the SEC and said that the Commission was trying to make a law based on the decisions of its cases instead of setting clear rules from the beginning, which has been a common criticism of the regulatory agency.
He revealed that he confronted Gensler last week in the CNBC green room, explaining the reasons for his criticism. “I told him this: He is fixing this whole thing and pushing Industries overseas (…) that is not right because it starts with crypto but it goes to other applications,” he recalled.
However, Cuban believes the SEC chairman “didn’t really get it.” The billionaire suggested that Gensler “got some of that Elizabeth Warren in him,” explaining that the SEC chairman may be “trying to be a public servant who saves the world” in his effort to reduce the industry and “bad actors.”
In the All-In podcast, the businessman continued to criticize the US regulator, saying that if it wasn’t for Gensler, crypto companies like FTX and 3AC would not have gone out of business. He pointed out that if the US regulator had taken the right approach, companies would have been able to act responsibly and protect investors:
What you should be doing is that here are the bold line rules. If FTX wants to borrow all their Ethereum, you have to do what they do in Japan and have 95% collateral, and 95% of anything needs to be put in Cold Storage. If he had followed the same crypto laws that Japan did, FTX would be in business. Bankman-Fried may still be in jail, but FTX and 3AC will still be in business.
Harris Campaign ‘Knows Gensler Has Considered It’
The billionaire shared details of his conversations with US Vice President Kamala Harris and his campaign. Cuban has publicly endorsed the Democratic nominee for the upcoming November Presidential election.
In an interview with Farokh, he shared that, despite his bias, he considers that having Gensler as SEC chairman was a bad look for the Biden-Harris administration as it automatically makes all decisions “spread.”
Cuban also says that Harris and his campaign know that, “they understand that he drove you crazy, that’s why you didn’t hear him say anything good to support him.” He considers the disagreement with Gensler as a “big signal” and good for his crypto position, which has been questioned a lot.
Finally, he revealed that he was “walking the walk” when he asked to become the new chairman of the SEC under the Harris administration. Instead, the millionaire wanted to open a conversation and send a message to Gensler: “that you are doing everything wrong.”
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