SEC Chairman Gary Genser Praises Four-Year-Old Video of Smart Contract Platform Algorand, It is being circulated on Twitter after the SEC announced that ALGO is an unregistered security.
In the video, Gensler calls Algorand a "great technology" as he considers whether a "high-performance" smart contract network could integrate Uber or Lyft-like applications on its platform. ALGO is one of six tokens that Gensler claims are unregistered securities in an April 17 SEC lawsuit filed against cryptocurrency trading platform Bittrex that challenged the Algorand Foundation’s June 2019 ALGO ICO Offering (ICO) objection.
Cryptocurrency researcher Mason Versluis was one of the first to highlight the video in a tweet on April 17, criticizing Gensler for using the "shilling" algorithm, while others accused the SEC chairman of apparent hypocrisy. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's "Fintech Beyond Crisis" conference on April 25, 2019, the audience heard Gensler praise Algorand.
Gensler, who was a professor of global economics and management at MIT before becoming SEC chairman, acknowledged former MIT colleague and Algorand founder Silvio Micali in his speech who also appeared to be in the crowd. The video prompted Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran to question Gensler's longstanding advice that crypto companies register with regulators. Cochrane tweeted on April 17: "Of course a world-renowned MIT professor who knows the SEC chairman could sort this out if there was a way to register."
Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett expects Gensler to challenge his comments about Algorand during testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on April 18. Other critics have chosen to mock the current situation, highlighting ALGO’s price drop, which has dropped 93.8% since its launch, according to data from CoinGecko. It’s worth noting that ALGO didn’t go public until late June 2019, two months after Gensler’s talk.
In an April 17 tweet, Gensler said it had been a "honor" to serve at the SEC for the past two years, choosing to highlight the 1,500 enforcement actions the regulator has taken since he took the helm. Gensler was sworn in as SEC chairman on April 17, 2021, after U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Gensler and was confirmed by the Senate on April 14, 2021.
