Gary Gensler, the current SEC Chairman, gave a passionate speech today defending his strict regulatory policy towards the cryptocurrency industry. President-elect Donald Trump had pledged to fire Gensler, and Gensler appears to have accepted his dismissal.
Gensler criticized the cryptocurrency industry, stating that it is "an area where investor harm has been significant".
Gensler: "Serious Investor Harm in Crypto... Strong Regulation Needed"
In a recent appearance, the controversial SEC Chairman Gary Gensler gave a speech that seemed like a "farewell". Gensler started by discussing "effective administration" and the history of U.S. securities laws, and then defended his unyielding regulatory policies, which have been a major source of pain for the U.S. cryptocurrency industry for a long time.
"This area has had significant investor harm for a long time. In addition to the potential for speculative investment and illicit activity, most crypto assets have not proven to have sustainable use cases," Gensler said.
The context of this speech is clear. The newly elected President Donald Trump had pledged to fire Gensler from his position as SEC Chairman. According to a recent report by BeInCrypto, Trump's transition team is considering three pro-crypto candidates to replace Gensler in January.
Additionally, Trump has made a series of promises to revolutionize cryptocurrency regulation in the U.S., targeting both federal regulatory agencies and the legislature. Even if Trump cannot directly fire Gensler, his vision for crypto enforcement is over.
Gensler: "I Pursued Crypto Regulation Policies in the Public Interest"
Since the SEC approved a Bitcoin ETF, Gensler's adversarial stance has faced increasing pushback from other government officials. The U.S. government is seeking to reframe cryptocurrency regulation in a more positive direction, and there is growing voter support for political parties with this stance. Nevertheless, Gensler has maintained his hawkish position.
Gensler said that since 2021, 5-7% of the SEC's total enforcement efforts have been crypto-related actions. However, despite targeting the industry in this way, he added that he focused on "around 10,000 digital assets" beyond Bitcoin, Ethereum, or stablecoins. This is less than 20% of the actual cryptocurrency market.
Clearly, his strategy of aggressively pursuing smaller assets is not sustainable. Gensler concluded his speech by reminding that he ultimately approved a Bitcoin ETF and used it as a model for effective compliance. Until the end, Gensler claimed that he pursued his cryptocurrency policies in the public interest.
In his final remarks, Gensler appears to be preparing to resign or leave the SEC. President-elect Donald Trump has proposed new policies on cryptocurrency regulation that are completely at odds with Gensler's approach.
However, if Gensler wishes to continue collaborating with the industry during Trump's presidency, Justin Sun has offered him a job at TRON.
"I'm proud to have worked with my SEC colleagues. They work daily to protect American households on the financial superhighway," Gensler concluded.
