Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler on Tuesday refused to comment on the upcoming U.S. presidential election or crypto's potential impact on it.
"I don't speak about elections," he said while speaking at the Bloomberg Invest Summit, when asked about the intersection of cryptocurrency and politics. He was addressing questions about former President Donald Trump’s increasing support for cryptocurrencies and criticism of his agency from figures like Mark Cuban.
On the topic of the much-anticipated Ethereum spot ETFs, Gensler also provided an update.
“We actually went live last year with an Ethereum futures ETF,” he noted, before addressing filings for cash-based Ethereum exchange-traded products.
He said that while the timing for the approval is uncertain, the process is "going smoothly," and depends on asset managers providing full disclosures for their registration statements to go effective. Some market watchers believe the first funds could launch next week.
“My role as a securities regulator—as chair of this great 5,000-person agency that oversees $120 trillion capital markets—is to look out for investors, look out for issuers and, where appropriate, to be a cop on the beat,” he said.
He reiterated that his primary focus is on maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets, regardless of the political climate.
“I’m focused every day on that part of my job, which is protecting the investors, looking after issuers’ access to markets,” he added.
Despite the growing political discourse surrounding crypto, he maintained that his duty is to regulate and not engage in election-related discussions.
This discussion comes at a time when crypto has become a significant issue in national U.S. politics.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has notably increased his support for cryptocurrencies, advocating for Bitcoin mining and accepting political donations in crypto. He has positioned himself against what he calls Pres. Joe Biden's “crusade to crush crypto.”