During the tenure of Gary Gensler, the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the crypto industry has faced a suppressive regulatory attitude, causing numerous companies to repeatedly hit regulatory roadblocks.
However, in an interview aired on Bloomberg on October 22, Gensler, in addition to answering questions about regulating crypto assets, also rarely blessed Bitcoin's "sweet sixteen" (the Bitcoin whitepaper was published on October 31, 2008).
However, when recently asked whether he would resign if Trump won, Gensler stated that he would not comment on the election, only saying that the election would eventually have a result. Essentially, Gary Gensler's term is expected to expire on January 5, 2026, but historical precedent suggests that if the opposing party takes the White House, the Chair will choose to resign.
Will Kamala Harris replace the SEC Chair?
On the other hand, according to the media outlet Unchained, citing sources this month, the campaign team of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is also considering new candidates for the SEC Chair position to replace Gary Gensler.
Sources indicate that the two SEC Chair candidates currently being reviewed by the Harris team are Georgetown University law professor Chris Brummer and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Chair Erica Williams. Reportedly, these two candidates are more crypto-friendly than Gary Gensler.
Chris Brummer earlier this year founded a company called Bluprynt, which focuses on providing regulatory compliance services for crypto entities, particularly regarding the EU's Crypto Asset Markets (MiCA) regulation. A source familiar with Brummer commented:
In terms of qualifications, Brummer is superior to Gensler. If Harris ultimately chooses him, this will be the biggest olive branch the crypto industry has received.
As for Erica Williams, the PCAOB she leads aims to work with the SEC to protect investors, with its main responsibilities including overseeing companies that prepare audit reports, setting auditing standards, and investigating and punishing companies that violate rules.
Although Williams has not made many public comments on cryptocurrencies, sources indicate that both Williams and Brummer have relatively progressive and open financial regulatory attitudes and will support crypto-related legislation, while also cracking down on criminals in the field.
Kamala Harris team has not yet made a clear statement
However, it is worth noting that the Harris team has not yet publicly or privately promised to replace the current SEC Chair Gary Gensler, and her attitude towards Chris Brummer and Erica Williams or other potential candidates is still unknown.
Additionally, sources also pointed out that the Harris team may not exhibit too much positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies before the election:
It is unknown who is the most popular, and the Harris team is concerned that being too positive about cryptocurrencies before the election will lose the support of voters who see cryptocurrencies as a scam, while also failing to truly gain the support of new swing voters.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Harris team stated:
We will not make any personnel changes before the election, and we will focus on building the necessary infrastructure to prepare for the future.
The SEC has issued Wells notices four times this year
With the U.S. election approaching, calls to replace the SEC Chair in the crypto industry are growing louder. This year, the SEC has issued Wells notices four times to major players in the crypto industry, specifically:
- On August 28, Devin Finzer, the CEO of Non-Fungible Token (NFT) trading platform OpenSea, posted that he had received a Wells notice from the SEC, indicating that the SEC considers NFTs to be securities and that OpenSea may face legal action.
- On April 11, Hayden Adams, the founder of leading decentralized exchange Uniswap, posted that he had received a Wells notice from the SEC, facing potential litigation.
- On April 10, the parent company of Metamask wallet, ConsenSys, received a Wells notice, with the SEC intending to determine that the Metamask wallet violates securities laws and take enforcement action.
Regarding the SEC's tough enforcement, Hester Peirce, an SEC Commissioner known as the "Crypto Mom", also stated that the SEC has used legally inaccurate perspectives in regulating cryptocurrencies, obscuring its own lack of clear regulation:
I believe we as regulators have indeed failed in terms of precision, as these tokens are actually not securities, which is a problem we should have acknowledged earlier. What we should be addressing are the industry's challenges.
Our efficiency is too low, and in the end, everyone wants to know where the boundaries of our power lie.
