Gary Gensler is probably going headed for the exit, and doable replacements for the Securities and Trade Fee chairman are being floated by Trump’s transition crew.
Whereas Trump in July promised to fireside Gensler on day one in all his second administration, he technically can’t take away Gensler (with out trigger) till his time period ends in 2026. However on the heart of the president-elect’s focus for hiring a brand new SEC chief is the problem of cryptocurrency.
Among the many people who some are speculating may take Gensler’s place is Dan Gallagher, Reuters reported. He beforehand labored as an SEC commissioner and is at present the chief authorized, compliance and company affairs officer of Robinhood Markets. Gallagher has criticized Gensler’s SEC and requested for modifications to the best way the company approaches crypto regulation.
In September, Gallagher spoke earlier than Congress throughout a listening to titled “Dazed and Confused: Breaking Down the SEC’s Politicized Approach to Digital Assets.” Throughout his ready remarks Gallagher known as out Gensler and mentioned the SEC has fostered “innovation-killing federal regulatory uncertainty.”
“The SEC has engaged in regulation by enforcement, which is bad for American consumers who want greater access to digital assets. It’s bad for the innovation in the blockchain and digital asset industries, and it is bad for the already eroding and competitive position of the U.S. with regard to digital asset markets,” he mentioned in the course of the listening to.
Robinhood didn’t instantly reply to Fortune’s request for remark.
In response to Reuters, one other doable candidate to take the reins of the SEC is Paul Atkins, who was part of Trump’s 2016 transition crew and likewise beforehand served as an SEC commissioner. He’s at present the CEO of consultancy Patomak International Companions.
Since 2017, Atkins has served as a co-chair of the Token Alliance, which is an initiative of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. The chamber is devoted to selling the “the acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies,” in line with its web site.
Throughout an interview with crypto media outlet CoinDesk in 2022, Atkins mentioned he agreed with the SEC and Gensler’s place that Bitcoin will not be a safety but in addition criticized Gensler’s strategy of regulating crypto.
“The way the SEC is doing this, as regulation through enforcement, or threatening to, is a real problem,” he mentioned.
Patomak International Companions didn’t instantly reply to Fortune’s request for remark.
Different reviews have flagged names like Mark Uyeda, who began a second time period as an SEC commissioner in January. Uyeda has been a commissioner since 2022 when he was nominated by President Biden.
He additionally has labored in a number of roles on the company, together with as senior adviser to former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and counsel to Atkins when he was a commissioner within the early 2000s.
Uyeda has been crucial of the SEC’s strategy to crypto as properly. In an October interview with Fox Enterprise, he known as the company’s crypto insurance policies a “disaster,” including that it had completed nothing to make clear crypto guidelines.
He additionally advocated for change on the high of the SEC to reform its agenda on crypto in a Fox Enterprise interview this week.
“The Commission’s war on crypto must end, including crypto enforcement actions solely based on a failure to register with no allegation of fraud or harm,” he mentioned in the course of the interview. “President Trump and the American electorate have sent a clear message. Starting in 2025, the SEC’s role is to carry out that mandate.”
Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt mentioned in a press release to Fortune that no determination has been made on Trump’s appointees
Though throughout his first time period as president in 2019 Trump declared he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrency and mentioned digital currencies are “not money,” he has modified his thoughts since then.
Trump actively embraced crypto throughout his 2024 presidential marketing campaign, and has additionally gotten in on the motion first-hand, launching his personal NFT initiatives that reportedly netted him tens of millions of {dollars} value of cryptocurrency and licensing charges.
In the meantime, Gensler has been profitable in reaching large settlements with some crypto corporations, together with the landmark $4.5 billion cope with Terraform Labs and its cofounder Do Kwon in June.
But, many crypto trade leaders have faulted the SEC chairman’s strategy, criticizing the company for not offering clear steerage on crypto and submitting lawsuits in opposition to corporations which have strived to adjust to SEC guidelines.
In October, Gensler hinted that he could also be prepared to step apart.
“Democracies have consequences, but we’re going to continue to do that which we do well at the SEC until, as I say, the ref calls the whistle,” the SEC chairman mentioned throughout a Las Vegas monetary know-how conference, Reuters reported. “Traditionally, presidents decide who chairs the SEC. That’s a good part of democracy.”
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