London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2026

Crypto billionaire urges clarity on industry regulation

Crypto billionaire urges clarity on industry regulation

Bitcoin Foundation chair reacts to lawsuit targeting crypto exchange Gemini

Bitcoin Foundation Chairman Brock Pierce argued on Thursday that there is a need for clarity as to which agency should regulate the cryptocurrency industry.

Pierce noted on "Mornings with Maria" that "one of the biggest concerns in this space is security vulnerability" and noted that "we are upgrading the insecure infrastructure that comprises the Internet today."

"Crypto is at the forefront of experiencing all of those pains, but as a result of that we’re going to live in a more secure future," Pierce said.

The crypto billionaire provided the insight reacting to a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, following the February theft of $36 million of crypto assets in Gemini's custody belonging to retirement accounts, a news release stated.

IRA Financial, a company that provides services for self-directed retirement and pension funds, is suing Gemini, which is owned by the Winklevoss twins Cameron and Tyler, over the company’s alleged failure to prevent the hack.

IRA Financial Trust vows to use the proceeds from the lawsuit to reimburse IRA Financial customers impacted by hack, the news release stated.

The lawsuit alleges that Gemini did not have proper safeguards in place to protect the crypto assets of customers and claims that the exchange acted too slowly to prevent more money from being stolen after IRA notified Gemini.

When reached for comment, a Gemini spokesperson told Fox News Digital that "IRA Financial was hacked and is trying to deflect blame on Gemini by filing this lawsuit."

"This is not a Gemini issue and no Gemini systems were compromised," the spokesperson continued. "While we regret that some of their customers had this experience, this incident starts and stops with IRA Financial."

Pierce stressed on Thursday that there have "clearly" been "calls for increased regulation" and recent events have only further highlighted the need for "sensible regulation."

Along with the stock market, bitcoin has experienced a lot of volatility in recent weeks.


As of Thursday morning, the bitcoin was trading around the $30,000 level, down from its all-time high of over $68,000 reached in November 2021.

The crypto is down more than 34% year-to-date.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have had some rough weeks in anticipation of and following the half-point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

It was the second of several anticipated increases this year as the central bank seeks to combat soaring inflation, which is at a high not seen in four decades.

The expectation now is that the Fed will take aggressive action to try and curb inflation, which has reduced investor appetite to hold assets perceived as higher risk.

Adding to more fears of volatility in the crypto market was the decoupling of the TerraUSD, a stablecoin whose value was tied to $1 last month. The world’s largest stablecoin by market cap, tether, also briefly edged down from its $1 peg.

Stablecoins are digital currencies with values that are pegged to traditional assets, like the dollar, another currency or gold. Its correspondence with the dollar is what, in theory, makes it stable. However, volatility in the crypto market challenged that presumption.

Pierce argued that "the implosion" of the stablecoins has "definitely" made regulation "a hot topic of discussion" and noted that he was happy to learn of "sensible regulation being proposed by people that have invested the time to know what they’re talking about."

Pierce was referencing the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, bipartisan legislation with the goal of creating a regulatory framework for digital assets that encourages financial innovation as well as consumer protections.

U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Cynthia Lummis, R- Wyo., introduced the legislation on Tuesday.

Pierce said he is "really happy to see the bill being proposed on a nonpartisan basis."

He pointed to a few "big things" in the bill, including "regulatory clarity in terms of what regulatory body should be overseeing this."

Pierce noted that several agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said regulation was "their domain."

"The reality is that cryptocurrency is built upon a database architecture called blockchain and you can build anything with the database," he said.

"But the idea of the CFTC being the regulatory body would be my pick if I had to choose one versus the confusion of everyone trying to say that this is their domain, making it difficult for investors, difficult for developers to operate with all that regulatory uncertainty."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
HMRC Warns Nearly Seven Million Adults Are Unclear About State Pension Entitlements
UK Parliament Passes Sovereign Grant Reform Before Conference Recess
British Rail Passengers Gain Automatic Right to Switch Operators During Disruptions
Burnham Hosts Downing Street Business Summit as UK Fiscal Pressure Builds
Labour Government Moves to Challenge £72 Million in Reform UK Crypto Donations
UK Advertising Industry Warns Wider Junk Food Rules Could Put £1 Billion in Media Spending at Risk
Cornwall Opens Devolution Talks With UK Government Over Transport and Local Services
UK Parliament Considers Sovereign Grant Reform Setting Royal Funding at £99.9 Million
Trades Union Congress Calls for Income-Based Energy Tariff Funded by Higher Bank Levy
UK Prime Minister Rejects Second Scottish Independence Referendum
House of Lords Begins Scrutiny of Bill to Lower UK Voting Age to 16
Anthropic Says Claude Was Exploited in Weapons-Related and State-Linked Cyber Activity
Institute of Directors Urges UK Government to Avoid Business Tax Increases in Autumn Budget
Rising Gilt Yields Cut UK Fiscal Headroom to About £13 Billion Ahead of Budget
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Services and Technology Activity Strengthen
UK Government Promises Clearer Student Loan Guidance After Repayment Backlash
Charities Warn Unpaid Carers May Die Before Receiving Government Compensation
Dover Unrest Prompts Review of UK Counter-Extremism Strategy
Celtic Summit Leaders Reassert Right to Pursue Independence From UK
NHS Records Busiest Summer on Record Amid Severe Heatwaves
Harrods Faces Potential £150 Million Compensation Bill Over Al Fayed Abuse Claims
UK Parliament Opens Debate on Landmark Assisted Dying Legislation
Metropolitan Police Investigate Reform UK Over Alleged Foreign Electoral Donations
UK Economy Expands 0.4% in July as AI Investment Boosts Activity
Bank of England Signals Caution on Rates as Inflation Pressures Persist
Tesco Alerts Police After Scammers Use Its Branding in AI-Generated Fraud
Lindy Cameron Appointed First Female Permanent Under-Secretary at UK Foreign Office
UK Government to Rewrite Student Loan Guidance After Mis-Selling Criticism
Welsh First Minister Warns Andy Burnham Government to Respect Devolution
Trump’s Falkland Islands Remarks Trigger New Diplomatic Tension With Britain
Reform UK Receives Record £72 Million Donation From Cryptocurrency Billionaires
UK Bans Imports From Israeli West Bank Settlements and Sanctions Supporting Institutions
Bayeux Tapestry Draws Large Crowds at British Museum
Cuts to International Aid Raise Concerns Over Fragile Overseas Health Systems
UK Airlines and Logistics Operators Adjust Capacity as Fuel Costs Rise
UK Mortgage Arrears Edge Lower in Second Quarter
UK Government Advances New Devolution Offers for English Councils
UK Parliament Begins Debate on NHS Governance and Single Patient Record Reforms
Andy Burnham Launches Number 10 North Devolution Initiative
UK Parliament Rejects Assisted Dying Bill for Terminally Ill Adults
UK Bans Goods From Israeli Settlements in the Occupied West Bank
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Technology Services Strengthen
Metropolitan Police Continue Investigation Into Reform UK Political Financing
Chinese Crypto Entrepreneur Leon Li Identified as Seller of £190 Million London Mansion
Trades Union Congress Proposes Social Energy Tariff Funded by Higher Bank Surcharge
British Chambers of Commerce Calls for State Pension Triple Lock to Be Scrapped
Anthropic Says Claude Helped Disrupt Biological Weapons and Cyber Espionage Threats
UK Imposes Sanctions Over Israeli Settlements and West Bank Violence
UK Reimposes Sectoral Sanctions on Iran’s Aviation, Shipping and Energy Networks
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as AI and Programming Services Lift Activity
×