One of President-elect Donald Trump's many promises — firing Gary Gensler and appointing a new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — could happen as early as January 20, the day he takes office.
Gensler, for example, took office less than 11 weeks after being appointed by President Joe Biden on February 3, 2021.
Gensler could also resign before Trump takes office, in which case Democrats would appoint an interim chairman.
Much of the support for US President-elect Donald Trump from crypto leaders — the Winklevoss brothers, Marc Andreessen, and Ryan Selkis, to name just a few — is a result of the real estate mogul’s many promises to support the continued expansion and growth of the digital asset industry in the United States.
Arguably one of the most important promises Trump made to win over the crypto community to his side was: “On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler.”
While he cannot force Gensler to resign as commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, he can appoint a new interim SEC chairman as soon as he takes office on January 20. He can also nominate a new commissioner to the Senate, which must confirm the choice.
With Republicans regaining control of the Senate after gaining a handful of seats in Tuesday's presidential election, Trump's pick would have a good chance of passing the vote and a new president could be in office within months.
For example, Gensler was nominated by incumbent President Joe Biden on February 3, 2021, confirmed by the Senate on April 14, and sworn in on April 17.
Gensler has made many enemies in the crypto space with his insistence that the agency already has enough rules and regulations for the industry, a status quo that crypto leaders disagree with. One of the most fundamental differences is Gensler’s insistence — one he shares with his predecessor, Trump appointee Jay Clayton — that most cryptocurrency trading on centralized exchanges violates federal securities laws.
Aside from the launch of a spot bitcoin and ether exchange-traded fund this year, which was approved by the SEC after years of negotiations and a legal victory by asset manager Grayscale, the financial regulator has done little to help crypto companies stay on track about what is legal and illegal, as it has yet to determine whether all cryptocurrencies are securities.
Gensler has been at the forefront of those actions, openly skeptical of cryptocurrencies. Just last month, he reiterated that his views had not changed. Speaking at NYU Law School in Manhattan in October, he said: “With all due respect, the people who were leading the charge in this space in 202[4] are now in jail or awaiting extradition.”
Read more: SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on Crypto: 'There's No Chance This Will Become a Currency'
Knowing Trump's plans for him, Gensler could also choose to resign before the new president takes office in January. If that happens, President Joe Biden would appoint an interim chairman from the remaining Democratic commissioners until Trump takes office, before Trump appoints an interim after he takes office.
Whoever Trump nominates would likely replace Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, who is currently up for renomination. If Gensler were to resign from the commission entirely, he would also need to be replaced through the nomination and confirmation process.
Several cryptocurrencies that the SEC has deemed unregistered securities in multiple lawsuits against exchanges have seen their prices surge over the past day, including Filecoin {{FIL}}, Algorand {{ALGO}}, Polygon (POL) (formerly MATIC), and Near {{NEAR}}, possibly in anticipation of a more lax regulatory regime under the Trump administration.
