Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler said he was “proud to serve” at the agency during a speech, amid widespread speculation about his potential resignation.
“I’ve been proud to serve with my colleagues at the SEC who, day in and day out, work to protect American families on the highways of finance,” he said at the 56th Annual Institute on Securities Regulation yesterday at the Practicing Law Institute in New York City.
To be clear: Gensler has not officially announced his resignation at the time of writing. However, Gensler’s use of the past tense regarding his job comes after President Elect Donald Trump promised to “fire Gary Gensler on day one” at a Nashville Bitcoin conference in July.
Markus Thielen, CEO of crypto research firm 10x Research, told Decrypt earlier this year that SEC chairs have historically resigned following the election of a new administration, such as at the start of the Obama or Biden administrations.
Gensler's speech also discussed his legacy during his three years at the SEC, including how it has applied its regulatory hand to the crypto industry. He also took the opportunity during his speech to reiterate his long-held stance that many cryptocurrencies are securities, not commodities, and the industry’s potential for harm.
In particular, he pointed towards the SEC’s multi-year battle with crypto firm Ripple as one example of where a firm “were not following the common-sense rules of the road.”
“This is a field in which over the years there has been significant investor harm,” he said. “Further, aside from speculative investing and possible use for illicit activities, the vast majority of crypto assets have yet to prove out sustainable use cases.”.
During his tenure at the SEC, Gensler also pursued other cases against some biggest names in the crypto world including crypto exchanges Coinbase and Uniswap, and software giant Consensys.
The Chair's speech comes as Gensler is facing a lawsuit from 18 states, and their Republican attorney generals, which accuses the agency of a “regulatory land grab” which defied its standard procedure.
Gensler’s term is set to last until 2026, and a president cannot remove an executive agency commissioner unless they demonstrate “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
But various third-party commentators have already put forward potential replacements for Gensler.
An anonymous former SEC official speaking to Politico said Robinhood’s Chief Legal Officer Gallagher would be a “natural choice.”
John Reed Stark, a legal professor and former employee, has said that current SEC commissioner Hester Peirce could also be a likely choice.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.