Gary Gensler, the head of the U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission has confirmed that his agency does not have the authority or intention to ban cryptocurrency. While responding to questions during an Oct. 5 House Committee on Financial Services hearing, Gensler emphasized that prohibiting crypto does not fall within the SEC’s mandate, stating: “That would be up to Congress.” “It's a matter of how we get this field within the investor consumer protection that we have and also working with bank regulators and others — how do we ensure that the Treasury department has it within anti-money laundering, tax compliance,” Gensler said.