Gary Gensler said he’ll step down as SEC chair. Bitcoin is soaring

Crypto enthusiasts are ecstatic after U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he will step down from his post on January 20 once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The price of Bitcoin, which has been on a streak of record highs since the presidential election, topped $98,000 for the first time on Thursday.

“The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike,” Gensler said in a press release. “The staff comprises true public servants. It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of everyday Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world.”

Crypto players believe the Trump administration will welcome legislative and regulatory changes that benefit the digital coin, despite the former president having been anti-crypto during his first term in office. Trump, who reversed his stance and now has a venture to trade cryptocurrencies, pledged to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet.”

Part of that bid, he said, was that he would “fire Gary Gensler.” Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, has been widely criticized by the crypto world due to the agency’s attempts to regulate the digital currency.

Under Gensler, the SEC cracked down on cryptocurrency companies including heavyweights like Binance and Coinbase, suing many for fraud and money laundering. Gensler’s regulatory approach prompted many in the crypto world to funnel money into this year’s federal elections, turning the sector into the cycle’s largest corporate campaign donor in the election cycle.

Gensler’s tenure came at an often-rocky time for the crypto industry. Most notably, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, convicted of stealing billions from customers and sentenced this past March to 25 years in prison.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91233913/gary-gensler-said-hell-step-down-as-sec-chair-bitcoin-is-soaring?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Created 1mo | Nov 21, 2024, 9:20:06 PM


Login to add comment

Other posts in this group

Why social media influencers are going to have a very big 2025

As 2024 rolls into 2025, big changes are potentially afoot in the world of social media. TikTok is

Dec 26, 2024, 1:30:07 PM | Fast company - tech
YouTube has a new plan to combat clickbait

Thumbnails play the YouTube equivalent of a movie poster, aiming to draw your attention to click and watch when you have hundreds of videos clogging your recommended content. Most of us have been

Dec 26, 2024, 11:20:02 AM | Fast company - tech
AI use cases are going to get even bigger in 2025

Over the past two years, generative AI has dominated tech conversations and media headlines. Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Midjourney, and Sora captured imaginations with their ability to create tex

Dec 25, 2024, 7:30:03 AM | Fast company - tech
YouTube TV price hike got you down? 5 free alternatives

Was YouTube TV’s recent price increase the straw that broke the camel’s back for you? Wh

Dec 25, 2024, 7:30:02 AM | Fast company - tech
TikTok is full of bogus, potentially dangerous medical advice

TikTok is the new doctor’s office, quickly becoming a go-to platform for medical advice. Unfortunately, much of that advice is pretty sketchy.

A new report by the healthcare software fi

Dec 25, 2024, 12:30:03 AM | Fast company - tech
45 years ago, the Walkman changed how we listen to music

Back in 1979, Sony cofounder Masaru Ibuka was looking for a way to listen to classical music on long-haul flights. In response, his company’s engineers dreamed up the Walkman, ordering 30,000 unit

Dec 24, 2024, 3:10:04 PM | Fast company - tech
The greatest keyboard never sold

Even as the latest phones and wearables tout speech recognition with unprecedented accuracy and spatial computing products flirt with replacing tablets and laptops, physical keyboards remain belov

Dec 24, 2024, 12:50:02 PM | Fast company - tech