Billionaire investor Mark Cuban has pushed for the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to regulate “all crypto,” along with a final plea to the U.S. Congress to offer clarity for the crypto industry before the 2024 presidential election.
Cuban believes such clarity could help secure another presidential term for Joe Biden.
“You could solve this problem for Biden by passing legislation that defines registration that is specific to the crypto industry just as other industries have registration that is defined for them,” Cuban declared to his 8.8 million followers in a May 10 post on X.
He further claimed that if Biden isn’t reelected for another presidential term, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and its Chair, Gary Gensler — known for his tough anti-crypto stance — may be held responsible, as crypto voters “will be heard this election.”
“If Joe Biden loses, there is a good chance you will be able to thank Gary Gensler and the New York SEC,” he added before suggesting the “better option” of assigning “all crypto to be regulated by the CFTC.”
“Crypto is a mainstay with younger and independent voters. Gensler HAS NOT PROTECTED A SINGLE INVESTOR AGAINST FRAUD.”
Cuban echoed the argument that has been heard by other leaders in the crypto community in recent times, namely that Gensler has made it “nearly impossible” for legitimate crypto companies to operate within the U.S. due to his enforcement-focused regulatory approach.
In 2023 alone, 46 enforcement actions were taken against crypto firms, according to litigation consulting firm Cornerstone Research data.
The SEC is now suing Kraken, Coinbase, Uniswap, Metamask and now Robinhood for the crime of helping regular Americans access crypto.
— RYAN SΞAN ADAMS - rsa.eth (@RyanSAdams) May 6, 2024
This level of regulatory overreach has destroyed the legitimacy of the SEC and may lose the democrats the election.
Voters don't want this.
Meanwhile, CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam believes there will be another cycle of enforcement actions within the crypto industry in the next six to 18 months.
The U.S. election is set to happen on Nov. 5, with crypto a more prevalent issue among voters than in previous elections.
Related: House votes to nullify SEC’s anti-crypto banking guidance SAB 121
On May 7, Cointelegraph reported that in an online poll conducted in April with 1,201 registered voters, more than two-thirds of those surveyed somewhat or strongly agreed that “crypto is for people like them, and more equitable than the financial system.”
The Biden administration has faced numerous controversies from the crypto community in recent months.
Most recently, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson claimed it was “unambiguously clear” that the Biden administration is trying its best to “destroy the American cryptocurrency industry.”
This comes after Biden claimed that his administration plans to veto a joint resolution to overturn SEC guidelines that discourage banks from holding crypto assets in custody.
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