SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who led the crackdown on crypto, to step down

On By Littum

Michelle Chapman
| Associated Press

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, who was aggressive in his oversight of cryptocurrencies, will step down from his post on January 20.

Gensler pushed for changes he said protected investors, but the industry and many Republicans balked at what they saw as overreaching.

President-elect Donald Trump had promised during his campaign that he would remove Gensler. But Gensler Thursday announced that he would resign from his post the day Trump is inaugurated.

Bitcoin has increased 40% since Trump’s victory. It hit new highs and approached $100,000 on Thursday. Bitcoin moved significantly higher after his resignation was announced.

Perhaps most famously, Gensler gave a speech in the first year of his presidency in 2021 in which he described the crypto world as “the Wild West.”

“This asset class is rife with fraud, fraud and abuse in certain applications,” he said in a speech at the Aspen Security Forum. “There is a lot of hype and spin about how cryptoassets work. In many cases, investors are unable to get rigorous, balanced and complete information.”

Under Gensler, the SEC brought cases against players in the crypto industry for fraud, laundering and other violations. The commission last month filed fraud charges, for example, against three companies pretending to be market makers, along with nine individuals, for trying to manipulate various crypto markets.

The SEC under Gensler also helped make bitcoin accessible to more investors. In January 2024, the SEC approved exchange-traded funds that track the spot price of bitcoin. With such ETFs, investors could get easier access to bitcoin without the huge overlays required for investments.

“The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation and ensuring markets work for both investors and issuers,” Gensler said in prepared remarks Thursday. “The staff is made up of true public servants. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of ordinary Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world.”

Gensler previously served as chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which led the Obama administration’s reform of the $400 trillion swaps market. He was also a senior advisor to the late U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., in writing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) and was Under Secretary of the Treasury and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 1997-2001.

AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed to this report.