U.S. SEC's Gensler says crypto exchanges should face more regulation

Representations of the virtual currency Bitcoin stand on a motherboard in this picture illustration taken May 20, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said on Thursday he would like to see more regulation around cryptocurrency exchanges, including those that solely trade bitcoin and do not currently have to register with his agency.

"This is a quite volatile, one might say highly volatile, asset class, and the investing public would benefit from more investor protection on the crypto exchanges," he said at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's annual conference.