Mark Cuban Slams Gary Gensler For SEC’s Crypto Crackdown: ‘FTX Would Still Be In Business’

Billionaire and crypto advocate Mark Cuban criticized the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman for his crackdown on the industry, arguing that FTX and Three Arrows Capital (3AC) would still be in business if it weren’t 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 elections, crypto adoption, and the SEC’s regulatory stance. The billionaire heavily criticized the US regulator and its chairman, Gary Gensler, for their “regulation via enforcement” approach to the sector.

In an interview with Farokh Sarmad, Cuban reiterated his long-standing discontent with the Commission, asserting he is a “big fan of bright line regulation” rather than “regulation via litigation.”

The crypto advocate slammed the SEC’s lack of transparency and argued that the Commission has been trying to make the law based on the rulings of its lawsuits instead of setting clear rules from the start, which has been a common criticism for the regulatory agency.

He revealed he confronted Gensler last week in CNBC’s green room, detailing the reasons for his criticism. “I told him this: You’re screwing the whole thing up you’re pushing Industries overseas (…) that’s just wrong because it starts with crypto but expands into other applications,” he recalled.

However, Cuban believes the SEC’s chairman did not “really get it.” The billionaire suggested that Gensler “got some of that Elizabeth Warren in him,” explaining that the SEC’s chair might be “trying to be a public servant that’s saving the world” with his attempt to crack down on the sector and its “bad actors.”

In the All-In podcast, the entrepreneur continued to slam the US regulator, claiming that if it weren’t for Gensler, crypto companies like FTX and 3AC wouldn’t be out of business. He argued that if the US regulator had taken the appropriate approach, companies would have been able to operate responsibly and protect investors:

What he should be doing is saying here’s the bright line regulations. If FTX wants to loan out all their Ethereum, you have to do what they did in Japan and have 95% collateral, and 95% of anything needs to be put in Cold Storage. If he had followed the same rules for crypto that Japan did, FTX would still be in business. Bankman-Fried might still be in jail, but FTX and 3AC would still be in business.

Harris’ Campaign ‘Knows Gensler Screwed It Up’

The billionaire shared the details of his conversations with US Vice President Kamala Harris and her campaign. Cuban has publicly endorsed the Democratic nominee for the upcoming November Presidential elections.

In the interview with Farokh, he shared that, despite his bias, he considers that having Gensler as SEC’s chairman was a bad look for the Biden-Harris administration as it automatically makes all the resolutions “f*cked up.”

Cuban also claims that Harris and her campaign are aware of it, “they understand that he screwed it up, that’s why you haven’t heard her say anything positive to support him.” He considers not endorsing Gensler as a “huge” and positive signal for her crypto stance, which has been heavily questioned.

Lastly, he revealed he was “trolling” when he offered to be the SEC’s new chairman under Harris’ administration. Instead, the billionaire wanted to open a conversation and send a message to Gensler: “that he’s doing it all wrong.”