Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler says nearly all crypto remains high-risk as institutions accelerate adoption.
Speaking in a new Bloomberg interview, Gary Gensler said many retail investors still overlook how little real value exists behind thousands of digital tokens.
Gensler drew a clear line between Bitcoin and the rest of the market. He reiterated his view that Bitcoin does not qualify as a security and has worldwide demand, deep liquidity, and a firmer regulatory footing. Even so, he said its price swings remain a concern for investors.
Bitcoin as the outlier, most tokens as speculative
Gensler had previously estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 crypto tokens operate without meaningful fundamentals, a view he reaffirmed in his latest interview.
Many of these assets, he explained, lack cash flow, dividend yields, or practical economic use. He went further by arguing that public popularity should not be conflated with sound investment foundations.
Reflecting on his time as SEC Chair, Gensler suggested that the SEC’s enforcement actions during his chairmanship revealed systemic issues within the industry. He cited the collapse of firms tied to Sam Bankman-Fried as a prominent example of the sector’s instability.
He also expressed concern regarding the post-tenure handling of certain cases. In his view, the revision or dismissal of these actions risks undermining public confidence in the market oversight of the crypto market.
Key crypto enforcement cases revised or closed under new SEC leadership
The current SEC leadership has adopted a noticeably different regulatory philosophy since Gensler’s departure.
Moving from a stance of aggressive litigation toward one prioritizing structured guidance and clearer rules, the new administration has recalibrated its approach.
This shift is concretely evidenced by the revision or closure of major enforcement cases initiated under the previous administration, as detailed in the table below.
| Parties Involved | Allegations | Filed | Status & Outcome |
| Binance & Founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao | Alleged to have operated an unregistered trading platform, misleading investors, and market manipulation | June 2023 | Dismissed, May 2025 |
| Coinbase Inc. & Coinbase Global | Securities law violations related to crypto exchange operations | 2023 | Dismissed via joint stipulation, February 2025 |
| Ripple Labs & XRP | Allegations of unregistered security offerings (ongoing from the Gensler era) | Filed earlier | Ongoing; signs of softer enforcement and policy review |
| ConsenSys (MetaMask Staking Service) | Accused of unlawfully offering securities via staking services | June 2024 | Case dropped, Q1 2025 |
| Crypto.com | Alleged regulatory overreach and enforcement missteps | Filed 2023 | Lawsuit closed, Early 2025 |
Gensler says Bitcoin ETFs show how markets recentralize
Gensler also discussed the rapid growth of Bitcoin ETFs as evidence that financial markets inevitably drift back toward centralized, regulated structures, despite the industry’s foundational decentralized ethos.
This trend mirrors how investors access commodities like gold and silver through traditional channels, an outcome he described as ironic yet inevitable.
This perspective came as Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded toward $92,000 and firms like Vanguard (NYSE: VGI) reopened ETF access to millions of clients.
Still, Gensler emphasized that broader convenience doesn’t change the fundamentals.
