SEC War on Crypto Could Wind Down Under Trump

Gary Gensler’s SEC has conducted one of the most aggressive regulatory crackdowns on the crypto industry in US history, viewing most digital assets as unregistered securities under decades-old finance laws.

However, the recent Republican landslide at the polls could result in a rollback of enforcement action from the securities regulator, according to Bloomberg.

Additionally, President Trump pledged at the Bitcoin Nashville conference in July that he would fire Gensler “on day one” when he was elected.

Time for a Change

Gensler’s replacement is expected to push forward new regulations that will modify existing securities laws. This will enable crypto companies to register and become compliant with rules that Gensler has been suing them for flouting, the report noted.

Jack Inglis, CEO of the London-based Alternative Investment Management Association, said, “We expect that both the Trump administration’s and new Congress’ approach to crypto regulation to be much more constructive.”

A change in SEC leadership could lead to new regulations more accommodating to crypto companies, a reduced focus on enforcement and lawsuits, and better prospects for bipartisan legislation.

On Nov. 7, ETF Store president Nate Geraci mockingly predicted that Gensler would “join a crypto-related firm post-Trump inauguration,” adding, “You all are gonna meltdown!”

Former SEC enforcement director William McLucas said using the decades-old Howey Test was not a good approach, adding:

“That can’t be the solution because whether you like crypto or you don’t like crypto, it’s not going away. The enforcement cases that have been brought are what they are, but they keep bringing them, and we keep seeing crypto products,”

Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal told Fox Business that he expects to see “significant changes” to the SEC’s crypto caseload under a new Trump-appointed chair.

“I think the new administration will take a fresh look at all the existing crypto cases brought under Gary Gensler and distinguish between the ones aimed at what are clearly scams and fraud and ones that are not.”

Like I’ve said: stop suing crypto. Start talking to crypto. Initiate rulemaking now. There’s no reason to wait. https://t.co/xBcvpGRk6e

— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) November 7, 2024

President and CEO of the American Securities Association, Chris Iacovella, told Bloomberg, “Last night, the people voted for this country to take a new direction, and Chairman Gensler should respect that vote by stepping down from his position immediately.”

Ending The War on Crypto

During his ‘reign of terror’ as SEC chair, Gary Gensler has targeted some of the largest crypto companies in the United States and overseas, including Ripple, Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, DRW Holdings, OpenSea, ConsenSys, and Uniswap.

Nearly every case has revolved around the same premise: his opinion that digital assets are securities contracts.

As if anticipating calmer regulatory seas ahead, crypto markets have surged to a five-month high, with Bitcoin leading the pack.