Chris Giancarlo, the former Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has refuted rumors that he is being considered to replace Gary Gensler as the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"I have made it clear that I cleaned up Gary Gensler's mess at the CFTC before and do not want to do it again," Giancarlo, widely known by his nickname "Crypto Dad", declared in a post on X on November 14.
Giancarlo served as a CFTC commissioner from June 2014 to April 2019, joining a few months after Gensler completed his over four-and-a-half-year tenure as the agency's chairman in January 2014. He was later appointed Acting Chairman of the CFTC from January to August 2017.
"The rumor that I am interested in a role related to cryptocurrency at the U.S. Department of the Treasury is also not true," he added.
Giancarlo earned the "Crypto Dad" nickname due to his support for blockchain technology. He also co-founded the Digital Dollar Project, aimed at "advancing the exploration" of a U.S. central bank digital currency.
He was also appointed to the board of directors of the cryptocurrency lending company BlockFi in April 2020 — about 30 months before the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022.
Speculation about who will replace Gensler has intensified following Donald Trump's election victory — the former president had vowed to fire Gensler on "day one" as one of his promises to the cryptocurrency industry.
Typically, SEC Chairs voluntarily resign when there is a change in administration, and while Gensler has not explicitly stated that he will do so, he has hinted that he will depart.
Trump's transition team is said to be reviewing a list of candidates to lead the SEC, with former SEC commissioner and Robinhood Markets' chief legal officer, Dan Gallagher, rumored to be at the top of the list.
Current SEC commissioner Mark Uyeda is also considered a strong contender to replace Gensler.
Uyeda has criticized the SEC's approach to cryptocurrency regulation and called Gensler's policies a "disaster for the entire industry" in October.
Other names on the list for the SEC Chair position include Paul Atkins, a former SEC commissioner who was part of Trump's 2016 transition team, and Robert Stebbins, a partner at the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, who served as the SEC's general counsel during the early part of Trump's presidency.
Some analysts suggest that legal obstacles may hinder the swift removal of Gensler, despite Trump's promise. The former president is expected to take office again on January 20.
Source: Chris Giancarlo
