United States presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy came down hard on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler and other “three-letter agencies” during the Nov. 6 Republican Party presidential debate, claiming regulators had failed to keep up with crypto.

Ramaswamy said it was “nothing short of embarrassing” that Gensler couldn’t admit before Congress that Ethereum’s native currency, Ether (ETH), should be considered a commodity.

@VivekGRamaswamy and @RonDeSantis talk crypto in the GOP primary debate pic.twitter.com/mQEPAmhfT5

— Taylor Barr (@taylorjbarr) December 7, 2023

The question directed at Ramaswamy mentioned the recent guilty plea of Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and asked how his crypto-friendly policies would prevent fraudsters from getting off the hook.

“Fraudsters, criminals and terrorists have been defrauding people for a long time,” Ramaswamy responded. “Our regulations need to catch up with the current moment.”

“The fact that SBF was able to do what he did FTX shows that whatever they have is the current framework isn’t working.”

Following Ramaswamy, fellow pro-crypto candidate Ron DeSantis added his voice to the crypto issue, reiterating he firmly opposes the implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

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“One of the dangers we’re gonna face, which Biden wants, is a central bank digital currency. They want to get rid of cash and crypto, and they will absolutely regulate your purchases,” DeSantis said.

“On day one as president, we take the idea of CBDCs and throw it in the trash can. It’ll be dead on arrival.”

Ramaswamy is one of a few presidential candidates who have made crypto a central campaign theme. He is the only Republican presidential candidate to unveil a crypto policy framework.

Former Democratic Party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made crypto a cornerstone of his campaign, going as far as saying that he would back the U.S. dollar with Bitcoin if elected president.

Outside of the presidential race, crypto has become a hot-button issue in the United States, with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren declaring a “war on crypto” as part of her senate reelection campaign.

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