Gensler sees bitcoin ETF irony in light of Satoshi's mission, says he respects Sen. Warren and the law

The launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds is ironic given that it goes against Satoshi Nakamoto's decentralization mission, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said in an interview with CNBC on Friday morning. 

Nakamoto, the pseudonymous, still unknown creator of the cryptocurrency who wrote the infamous bitcoin whitepaper, proposed a "system for electronic transactions without relying on trust," in 2008. 

"There's an irony in the midst of this — Satoshi Nakamoto said this was going to be a decentralized system and finance — this has led to centralization," Gensler said on CNBC. 

Gensler's comments come days after his agency approved a series of spot bitcoin ETFs, though the chair quickly pointed out that it did not mean the SEC approves or endorses bitcoin. Spot bitcoin ETFs began trading on Thursday and have since cleared $6 billion of cumulative volume. 

Gensler, who previously taught blockchain at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said there are innovations in the space around the ledger system.

"No doubt there are innovations within this field and those innovations, which I taught about at MIT around a ledger system, it's just an accounting system called the blockchain technology," Gensler said. 

Respect for Warren

Gensler was also asked on Friday about criticism from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who voted to nominate him to SEC chair in 2021. 

Warren slammed the SEC on Thursday in a post on X for approving spot bitcoin ETFs. 

"The @SECgov is wrong on the law and wrong on the policy with respect to the Bitcoin ETF decision," Warren said. "If the SEC is going to let crypto burrow even deeper into our financial system, then it's more urgent than ever that crypto follow basic anti-money laundering rules."

Gensler said he has "deep respect for those who may have been on the other side of this," while adding he also has that respect for the law. 

Spot ether ETFs

Gensler was also asked about the potential for a spot Ethereum ETF down the road. 

"I look at what we did this week as it's cabined to one non security commodity called bitcoin like we've had gold spot exchange traded products and silver exchange traded products in the past and approved in the past," Gensler said. "This is cabined just to that one non-security commodity token."