Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler said he believes the cryptocurrency market, which is now worth $ 2 trillion, needs more regulation, CoinDesk reported.

Gensler held his first public hearing since becoming head of the main US regulator and said the authority of the SEC was limited to securities and products or asset managers likely to invest in the cryptography, according to CoinDesk.

However, he said Congress should consider playing a larger role in clarifying the regulations in the proceedings, although he did not specify what that might look like, CoinDesk reported.

“Right now, these exchanges do not have a regulatory framework at the SEC or our sister agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. [(CTFC)]He said, from CoinDesk. “Right now, there is no market regulator around these crypto exchanges, and therefore, there is really no protection against fraud or manipulation.”

The comments followed a question about digital assets from Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. Gensler’s response also touched on the draft custody regulation, which he hopes will move forward, according to CoinDesk.

McHenry sponsored a bill that would address how the SEC and CFTC would divide crypto oversight. He asked Gensler how he would improve regulatory clarity, CoinDesk reported.

The hearing in question was hosted by the House Financial Services Committee in response to the frenetic stock market environment of early 2021, in which meme stocks like GameStop and AMC were unexpectedly elevated above bets placed on them by hedge funds, according to CoinDesk.

Gensler, speaking at the hearing, said the technology “can provide better access to our financial markets,” referring to sites like Reddit and how they can influence the markets, CoinDesk reported. But he said he didn’t want to curb free speech. He said he just wanted to make sure the malicious actors did not participate in this year’s stock market chaos.

In response to numerous money laundering involving cryptocurrency, PYMNTS found that 56% of exchanges did not have strong Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, which have also become a priority for regulators recently as that the role of crypto in the world is being assessed.