Gary Gensler Confirms SEC Exit: What It Means for Crypto

• SEC Chair Gary Gensler has confirmed that he would be leaving the agency.
• The announcement has sparked significant excitement in the crypto industry.
• The excitement comes as Gensler’s exit has been tipped to usher in an era of growth and innovation.

Following Donald Trump ‘s election victory, the crypto industry has been in constant euphoria. The president-elect spent significant time courting the sector on the campaign trail, making many big promises that offered hope of a significantly supportive regime. 

One of the main promises was putting an end to the perceived regulatory crackdown on the industry, starting with the sacking of SEC Chair Gary Gensler . The SEC chair has long been viewed as the industry’s enemy number one for his efforts to put crypto under his ambit allegedly without offering clear rules of the road.

In recent weeks, much time has been spent trying to answer just how Trump will fulfill this promise or whether Gensler will hang up his shield before then. Following a recent statement from Gensler and the SEC, the crypto community does not have to wonder anymore.

Gensler Bows Out

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has confirmed that he would be leaving the agency. In a statement on Thursday, November 21, the SEC chair disclosed that he would leave the agency as Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

"The Securities and Exchange Commission is a remarkable agency. The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike. The staff comprises true public servants. It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of everyday Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world," Gensler remarked in the statement.

In Gensler’s three-year stint at the SEC, which began in April 2021, the agency has pursued a staggering 2,700 enforcement actions, over 100 of them related to crypto. These include cases against leading crypto firms Kraken , Binance , Coinbase , and ConsenSys . Gensler has maintained that most crypto assets represent unregistered securities and that crypto firms do not offer proper disclosure.

The announcement of the SEC chair’s departure has unsurprisingly sparked a flurry of responses from the crypto community, which has wasted no time celebrating the development. The excitement comes as Gensler’s exit has been tipped to usher in an era of growth and innovation.

A Path Towards Clarity

For many in the crypto industry, Gensler’s exit offers crypto a path toward clarity. Banking on Trump’s promise of a crypto-friendly chief, the industry hopes to have an agency with which it can collaborate on regulations that consider the technology’s peculiarities.

This is expected to usher in an era of innovation that will allow the industry to flourish in the US after years of talk about an industry exodus.

On the Flipside 

• When Gensler was appointed SEC chief, it was believed that he would support the industry. 
• Trump has yet to declare his pick for SEC chair.

Why This Matters

Gensler’s exit signals the end of the SEC’s so-called crypto regulation by enforcement campaign that has seen the agency maintain that decades-old securities laws are sufficient to guide the industry.

Read this for more on Gensler:
Gary Gensler: Is the SEC Chair Cryptocurrency’s Greatest Threat?

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