Gary Gensler stepped down as SEC Chair as Trump began his second term, with Paul Atkins set to succeed him, signaling a potential shift to pro-business crypto policies.
A message from the SEC on Monday said goodbye to SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Gensler has been in charge of the agency since April 2021. Trump starts his second term in office at the same time that Gensler leaves.
“Although as Commissioners we approached policy issues from different perspectives, there was always dignity in our differences,” the statement read. “Chair Gensler has been committed to bipartisan engagement and a respectful exchange of ideas, which has helped facilitate our service to the American public.”
Gensler resigned in November of last year, which made it possible for Trump’s choice, Paul Atkins, to become SEC Chair while the Senate confirms him. Atkins is likely to bring a business-friendly attitude to the agency, especially when it comes to crypto rules.
The SEC brought 100 crypto-related enforcement actions under Gensler’s direction. This was in addition to the 80 cases brought by former chair Jay Clayton during the ICO boom of 2017-2018.
Many people say that the outgoing chair’s “regulation by enforcement” approach, which focused on stricter rules for corporate governance and harsh actions against crypto markets, stifled innovation and investor confidence.
As Gensler left, he supported the SEC’s strict crypto enforcement. He said that the sector was “full of bad actors” and that it was mostly driven by feelings rather than facts.
He insisted that most crypto assets are stocks, but he called Bitcoin “a commodity” and said it was like gold.
The SEC is likely to become majority Republican, and Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda are getting ready to start changes that will make it easier to understand how crypto asset securities are classified and look over enforcement cases.
Reuters says the government may stop or drop some lawsuits that aren’t about fraud.