SEC chair says crypto intermediaries should comply with law

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler said that companies that help facilitate transactions in the cryptocurrency market should come into compliance with law.

"Their business model right now is offering the public… an interest return in crypto… and then possibly trading against their customers," Gensler told Yahoo Finance in an interview on Tuesday. "The runway is getting shorter" between crypto lenders' compliance and SEC enforcement, the SEC chair added.

The SEC has enough authority but could use more resources, Gensler said in the interview. He labeled the crypto intermediaries as "crypto casinos."

"The entrepreneurs in this field have chosen - it's a choice - to try and skirt the law, whether they're setting up overseas and servicing overseas actors," Gensler said. "But if they're tapping into U.S. markets, they need to come into compliance."

The SEC chair added that next Wednesday, the agency will take up recommendations from agency staff on equity market structure.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Aurora Ellis)