IT LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE BIGGER THAN ANYONE REALIZED SO THERE YOU GO. >> WITH THAT, LET'S GET TO SEC CHAIR GARY GENSLER JOINS US ON A FIRST ON CNBC INTERVIEW. CHAIRMAN GENSLER, GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK WELCOME. >> GOOD TO BE WITH YOU, SIR. >> WE'VE HAD YOU ON SEVERAL TIMES AND TRIED TO GET FROM YOU A SENSE OF TIMING WHEN THERE WOULD BE MORE CLARITY REGARDING THIS SPACE IT FEELS LIKE NOW IS THE MOMENT. >> LOOK, I THINK THERE'S BEEN CLARITY FOR YEARS. THE INVESTING PUBLIC HAS THE BENEFIT OF THE U.S. SECURITIES LAWS CRYPTO SHOULD BE NO DIFFERENT, AND THESE PLATFORMS, THESE INTERMEDIARIES NEED TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE AND PROTECT THE INVESTING PUBLIC >> OF THE CASES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THEM ONE BY ONE WHICH ONE IS MORE IMPORTANT IN YOUR VIEW? >> YOU'RE LEADING THIS INTERVIEW. I'LL FOLLOW YOU WHERE YOU ARE. LET ME SAY THIS TO THE INVESTING PUBLIC THESE TRADING PLATFORMS, THEY CALL THEMSELVES EXCHANGES, ARE COMMINGLING A NUMBER OF FUNCTIONS WHICH IN TRADITIONAL FINANCE WE DON'T SEE THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE ALSO OPERATING A HEDGE FUND, MAKING MARKETS, AND AS WE ALLEGED IN BINANCE, HAVING A SISTER ORGANIZATION FLOODING THE PLATFORM WITH TRANSACTIONS CALLED WASH TRADING AND THE LACK OF CONTROLS ON THE PLATFORMS IT'S REALLY A WEB OF DECEPTION AND CONFLICTS ALONG WITH A CONTROLLED PERSON, MR. ZHAO, TRYING TO EVADE U.S. LAW. >> GIVEN THE TIMELINE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WHAT DO YOU SAY TO VIEWERS WHO WONDER WHY ENFORCE. HAS TAKEN ARGUABLY, AT LEAST SEVERAL YEARS, SO LONG >> IT TAKES TIME WE DO THINGS BY THE BOOK THAT'S WHAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WOULD WANT US TO DO. WE FOLLOW THE FACTS AND THE LAW, AND I COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD OF THE INVESTIGATIVE TEAMS AT THE SEC WORKING TOGETHER WITH COLLEAGUES IN OUR VARIOUS DIVISIONS, TRADING IN MARKETS, GENERAL CLEVELAND BROWNS CONSOLE LAR'S OFFICE, A LOT OF GUM SHOE, WALKING THE BEAT INVESTIGATION TO BUILD A CASE LIKE WHAT YOU'VE SEEN ALLEGED IN 136-PAGE COMPLAINT. >> MR. CHAIRMAN, A LOT OF IT IS HARD TO UNDERSTAND FOR INSTANCE, IN THE BINANCE COMPLAINT YOU SAY -- MR. CHAIRMAN -- I NEED TO KNOW THIS, THE SEC'S BINANCE COMPLAINT ALSO SEEKS EMERGENCY RELIEF LIKE AN ASSET FREEZE, ASSET CREDIT DISCOVERY AND EVEN THE APPOINTMENT OF A RECEIVER. ARE THERE MORE PLEADINGS COMING? IF YOU DO THIS, THAT'S THE END OF BINANCE >> LOOK, WE HAVE CONCERNS, AND I THINK THE INVESTING PUBLIC SHOULD BE AWARE PUTTING THEIR HARD-EARNED ASSETS ONTO THESE PLATFORMS. WE HAVE CONCERNS WHEN A PLATFORM LIKE THIS PUTS THEMSELVES OUT TO THE PUBLIC, IS CONSCIOUSLY TRYING TO EVADE U.S. LAW AND CUSTOMER FUNDS, YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHO WAS IN CUSTODY OF THEM. WAS IT CUSTODIED HEAR OR OVERSEAS, WERE SOME OF THE FUNDS IN CRYPTO POSSIBLY MOVED TO AFFILIATES -- A NUMBER OF AFFILIATES CALLED MERIT PEAK AND SIGMA CHAIN, IT'S FUNDAMENTALLY A LACK OF CONTROLS, DECEPTION, CONFLICTS AND, YES, WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT WHICH WE CAN IN FRONT OF THE COURTS AND MAKE -- TO THE EXTENT WE CAN, MAKE THE FACTS KNOWN AND THE PUBLIC PROTECTED >> WHEN I READ YOUR BINANCE, I CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW ANYONE CAN ASSIGN A VALUE TO CRYPTO IT SEEMS ENTIRELY PREDICATED ON THE GREATER FOOL THEORY. DO YOU DISAGREE? >> WE AS AN AGENCY ARE MEANT TO BE MERIT NEUTRAL, JIM. THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTION, 10 TO 20,000 TOKENS. ACTUALLY IN THE COINBASE COMPLAINT, WE NOTE THAT THEY HAVE THROUGH THE COINBASE WALLET, YOU CAN TRADE 16,000 DIFFERENT TOKENS THERE'S A LOT OF DEBATE AS TO THE USE CASES AND WHETHER THERE'S ANY THERE THERE. WE DON'T NEED MORE DIGITAL CURRENCY WE ALREADY HAVE DIGITAL CURRENCY IT'S CALLED THE U.S. DOLLAR, CALLED THE EURO, CALLED THE YEN. THEY'RE ALL DIGITAL RIGHT NOW. WE ALREADY HAVE DIGITAL INVESTMENTS. YOU HAVE ENTREPRENEURS REPRESENTING DIGITAL INVESTMENTS ON THIS PROGRAM ALL DAY LONG IT'S WHETHER IT'S THE BIG TECH COMPANIES, THE AUTOMOBILE COMPANIES, YOU NAME IT IT'S ALL DIGITAL RIGHT NOW, THE INVESTING WORLD. SO WHAT IS THE REAL UNDERLYING VALUE OF THESE TOKENS, AND THAT'S WHY YOU NEEDFUL, FAIR AND TRUTH. DISCLOSURES, AND THAT'S THE REGIME THE SECURITIES LAWS WAS SET UP, WHEN THERE'S A GROUP OF ENTREPRENEURS, THE ENTREPRENEURS SHOULD BE ABLE TO PUT THEIR CASE IN FRONT OF THE INVESTING PUBLIC IN WHAT'S CALLED A FILING. THAT'S KIND OF THE BEDROCK OF WHAT PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND CONGRESS WORKED ON 90 YEARS AGO. >> CHAIR GENSLER, IT'S DAVID CAN YOU CHARACTERIZE AT ALL WHAT, IF ANY -- I WOULD ASSUME THERE HAVE BEEN MANY CONVERSATIONS THROUGH TIME WITH COINBASE, BETWEEN THE SEC AND COINBASE CAN YOU CHARACTERIZE -- DID YOU EVER GET CLOSE DID YOU -- HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN CLOSE TO GETTING THEM TO ACCEDE TO YOUR WISHES I WOULD ASSUME GIVEN THE COMPLAINT THEY DIDN'T QUITE GET THERE. CAN YOU GIVE OUR VIEWERS A SENSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENED TO THIS POINT? >> I'M NOT GOING TO GO INTO CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN AN AGENCY AND THE COMPANY. WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH LITERALLY DOZENS OF CRYPTO INCUMBENTS INCLUDING THE ONES THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED. WHAT WE FIND IS THIS IS A FIELD THAT'S BUILT -- THE WHOLE BUSINESS MODEL IS BUILT ON NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE U.S. SECURITIES LAWS. WE'RE ASKING THEM TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE THEY'RE GOING A BIT OF "CATCH US IF YOU CAN." THEY'RE COMMINGLING VARIOUS FUNCTIONS. THE PUBLIC WOULD BE AGHAST IF THEY THOUGHT THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE WAS ALSO RUNNING A HEDGE FUND TRADING AGAINST THEM OR ALLOWING WATCHED TRADING OR LACKED CONTROLLED TO PROTECT AGAINST FRAUD AND MANIPULATION ON THE PLATFORM. SO THE CONVERSATIONS HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTIVE, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT THEM BRINGING A BUSINESS MODEL INTO COMPLIANCE. WE HAVE HAD SUCCESS. EVEN IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS AN ENTITY FILED -- A CRYPTO ENTITY FILED AS WHAT'S CALLED A SPECIAL PURPOSE BROKER DEALER AND GOT REGISTERED THAT WAY. WE'VE HAD SUCCESS WITH TOKENS. NOW IT'S ABOUT THESE
