By Sam Ozer-Staton

As the cryptocurrency craze intensifies, small-time investors and business titans alike are reading the tea leaves for signs of government regulation of the nascent industry. On Monday at the Code Conference in Los Angeles, Preet interviewed Gary Gensler, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, about the future of crypto.  

Preet spoke with Gensler following a spate of recent cryptocurrency news. On Friday, China declared all financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies illegal and issued a nationwide ban on cryptocurrency mining. Meanwhile, in the United States, Treasury Department officials indicated that regulation is forthcoming, specifically relating to “stablecoin,” a crypto asset that is ostensibly pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar or another stable asset, to protect against the kind of volatility traditionally associated with cryptocurrency markets. 

Nellie Liang, an undersecretary of the Treasury, said last week of stablecoin: “It is important for the agencies to act quickly to ensure there is an appropriate U.S. regulatory framework in place.”