- Trump vows to remove crypto critic Gary Gensler as SEC chairman.
- Potential successors have ties to crypto companies and defense firms.
When speaking to the Bitcoin faithful at a conference in July, Donald Trump made many promises. But the biggest cheers came after his promise to fire the head of America’s top financial regulator.
Even Trump was surprised by the response.
“I didn’t know he was so unpopular,” Trump said, his voice nearly drowned out by the cheers of attendees. “Let me say that again. On day one, I will fire Gary Gensler.
Now the president-elect, who won a resounding victory in Tuesday’s U.S. election, is able to target Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gensler when Trump takes office in January 2025.
Gensler’s unpopularity can be attributed to his inflexible approach to crypto regulation.
According to an analysis by crypto venture capital firm Paradigm, more than half of the crypto-related enforcement actions the SEC has taken since 2015 occurred during Gensler’s three-year tenure.
For his part, Gensler argued his agency was trying to clean up a rogue industry whose “ringleaders” were “in jail, about to go to jail, or awaiting extradition.”
Crypto executives and investors, meanwhile, have pushed back, seeing Gensler as a rogue bureaucrat trying to sue a growing industry into submission or push it overseas.
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These crypto critics are about to have their day.
Despite his promise, Trump can’t fire Gensler — but he can demote the former Goldman Sachs executive from his leadership role. Next, the Republican president-elect will most likely nominate a new president, and almost all of the presumptive nominees have ties to crypto.
The list of these candidates does not include “crypto mom” Hester Peirce, an SEC commissioner who has consistently opposed the agency’s lawsuits against crypto companies. But her name was floated as her successor, and industry executives looked forward to her leading the agency.
According to reports in Axios and Unchained, Peirce is not currently seeking the position and is more likely to try her hand at beekeeping at her home in Ohio.
But the list includes another SEC commissioner, a “crypto dad” and other industry allies.
Marc Uyeda
SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda joined Peirce on several opinions attacking the agency’s decision to sue crypto companies.
“Allowing crypto to be addressed in an endless series of misguided and overreaching cases has been and continues to be a consequential mistake,” they wrote in September after the SEC sued Flyfish Club for selling non-fungible tokens.
Uyeda called the agency’s approach to crypto “a disaster for the entire industry” during an appearance on Fox Business last month.
Uyeda wants to lead the SEC and has a “decent chance” to do so, crypto attorney Jake Chervinsky said Wednesday.
Before being appointed to the commission in 2022, Uyeda was a securities adviser to former Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, who was considered an industry ally before leaving the Senate in 2023.
Dan Gallagher
Dan Gallagher, Robinhood’s chief legal officer, is also considered a leading candidate to head the SEC, according to a report. Policy October report citing a dozen regulators, lobbyists and securities lawyers.
Robinhood is a trading and investing app that has become popular with retail investors during the pandemic.
In May, the company said the SEC was considering suing it over its crypto activities.
“We strongly believe that the assets listed on our platform are not securities,” Gallagher said at the time.
“We look forward to working with the SEC to make clear how weak any case against Robinhood Crypto would be on the facts and the law.”
Before joining Robinhood, Gallagher served four years as an SEC commissioner and partner at the law firm White Shoe WilmerHale. He criticized financial regulations implemented following the Great Recession.
Gallagher said. Policy he would have sought suitable rules for crypto if he had been SEC chairman in recent years.
He added that it was an honor to be included on a shortlist of potential SEC presidents. The publication said it was unclear whether he would take the job if offered.
Chris Giancarlo
Policy also named “CryptoDad” Chris Giancarlo as a potential SEC chairman.
A former director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Giancarlo is co-chair of the digital work practice at Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
During his tenure as chairman of the financial regulator, Giancarlo oversaw the approval of the first Bitcoin futures products.
In 2021, he published a book called “CryptoDad: The Fight for the Future of Money” and this year he joined the board of directors of stablecoin issuer Paxos.
He serves on the advisory board of The Digital Chamber, a crypto lobbying firm.
Paul Atkins
Some people close to Trump suggested he nominate former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, according to a report. CNBC July report.
In 2016, The Wall Street Journal called Atkins “Trump’s point man on financial regulation” and someone who “prefers a light touch.”
Atkins is the founder of financial services consultancy Patomak Global Partners LLC and, like Giancarlo, serves on the advisory board of The Digital Chamber.
Heath Tarbert
Crypto investors have also proposed Heath Tarbert, chief legal officer of stablecoin issuer Circle, as a likely successor to Gensler, according to CNBC.
Tarbert previously served as Chairman of the CFTC and General Counsel of Citadel Securities.
Robert Stebbins
Giancarlo’s colleague at Willkie Farr, associate Robert Stebbins, is another suitor, according to Policy.
He is the only candidate without an explicit connection to the crypto industry.
Stebbins previously served as general counsel at the SEC.
Aleks Gilbert is a DeFi correspondent based in New York. You can reach him at aleks@dlnews.com.
