SEC Chair Gary Gensler May Be Replaced by President-Elect Donald Trump
SEC Chair Gary Gensler is reportedly weeks away from being replaced as the head of the SEC by President-elect Donald Trump. Gensler has been a staunch advocate for cryptocurrency and enforcement, and is known for his views on crypto regulation.
In a speech in New York on November 14, Gensler stated that “not every [crypto] asset is a security,” and added that former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and himself have both said that Bitcoin is not a security, and the Commission has never treated Bitcoin as a security. However, Gensler still believes that most of the other crypto assets are securities, despite the lack of legal or congressional classification.
He believes that 10,000 or so other digital assets are securities, and has focused his efforts on those assets. Gensler has also reiterated that those parties offering or selling securities to the public need to register and give proper disclosure to the public, and that intermediaries – broker-dealers, exchanges, clearinghouses – need to be registered and properly regulated.
Industry executives have pointed out that there is no means to register because their firms are not securities brokers, and Gensler has continued to state that crypto is a field in which there has been significant investor harm. He has cited arguments about illicit activities and declared that the vast majority of crypto assets have yet to prove out sustainable use cases.
On November 14, 18 US states filed a lawsuit against Gensler, accusing the SEC of “gross government overreach” against the crypto industry. Gensler may be poised to step down, as his term officially ends in June 2026, and the crypto industry and investors remain hopeful that Trump will follow through with his promise of firing Gensler “on day one” if elected.
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