SEC’s Gensler Takes His Crypto-Negative Pep Talk to the US Army
We’re not expecting regulators to be cheerleaders for any industry – all though it seems common in the “clean energy” sector – but it’s another thing for the self-declared primary regulator of cryptocurrency to deliver such a negative message to what, by any definition, is a captive audience.
US Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler took his crypto-skeptical road show to a new market — the United States Army.
On Jan. 11, the U.S. Army hosted its first Twitter Spaces event of 2023, with Gensler and SEC commissioner Caroline Crenshaw joining the discussion to provide financial advice on how and where U.S. soldiers should invest their money.
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Sergeant Lawrence Holmes noted “there are soldiers that look for those alternative investments [such as] crypto assets,” asking the pair what risks there were to crypto investing.
“It’s the Wild West,” Gensler answered, adding that “most of these 10,000 or 15,000 tokens will fail.”
“History tells us there’s not much room for micro currencies, meaning, you know, we have the U.S. dollar and Europe has the euro and the like.”
He urged soldiers not to “get caught up in the FOMO — the fear of missing out” saying cryptocurrencies are “highly speculative” and “non-compliant.”
“Most of these are not complying with the securities laws, but they should be.”
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As for the SEC’s advice on where U.S. Army personnel should place their dollars, Crenshaw told troops to invest “as much as possible” in a Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) — a government-sponsored retirement plan for federal employees and service members.
Oosh. We thought they said they wanted to support the troops?