New York: The top US securities regulator, a cryptocurrency skeptic appointed by President Joe Biden, announced Thursday that he will step down in January when Donald Trump takes office.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said he will step down on Jan. 20, the same day Trump takes office. The move clears the way for the Republican president-elect to choose Gensler’s successor.
The news comes as bitcoin hit a new record of $98,473.64 on Thursday.
Gensler’s five-year term doesn’t end until 2026, but agency heads typically step down when the party in power in a presidential administration changes.
Gensler took office in April 2021, shortly after the so-called “meme stock” craze of January 2021 sparked massive volatility in GameStop and a number of other stocks.
The former mergers and acquisitions partner at Goldman Sachs is leading rulemaking proposals intended to increase efficiency in capital markets.
However, its future in Washington appears uncertain given the SEC’s confrontational approach to cryptocurrencies during the Biden years.
During the campaign, Trump received significant financial support from cryptocurrency advocates, some of whom are also close allies of the president-elect, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
In the absence of clear regulation, Gensler has taken an aggressive stance on digital currencies, treating them like traditional financial securities such as stocks and bonds.
The approach has sparked SEC lawsuits against major trading platforms including Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken, along with a variety of smaller startups.
Leading legislation in Washington would shift oversight to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is known for its looser approach to regulation.
Gensler thanked Biden and his fellow commissioners, saying in a statement, “The SEC has fulfilled our mission and enforced the law without fear or favor.”
