U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler testifies before a House Financial Services Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill on September 27, 2023 in Washington.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler will resign on Jan. 20, the agency announced Thursday, paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump to quickly select a replacement.
Gensler took over the SEC in 2021, and under his leadership the commission took an ambitious but controversial approach to several regulatory issues, including cryptocurrencies. Trump has not announced his pick to lead the SEC, but the expectation is that the next chair will be friendly to Wall Street and crypto.
SEC commissioners serve five-year terms, so Gensler could theoretically stay on until at least 2026. Instead, they are leaving the agency altogether, as was widely expected.
“The staff and the commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that markets work for investors and issuers alike. Staff It’s been a lifetime honor to serve with real public servants and make sure our capital markets are the best in the world,” Gensler said in a press release.
Under Gensler, the SEC emphasized requiring more disclosures from financial advisers to publicly traded companies and investors. The agency also extended settlement hours for stock trades to just one day, a change partially extended by meme stock trading in early 2021.
Gensler’s SEC has had several high-profile disputes with the crypto industry, including a legal battle with Grayscale to block Bitcoin ETFs. Grayscale won in court, and billions of dollars have flowed into these new funds since launching in January. The SEC has also sued several major digital asset companies in recent years over how they were handling or selling crypto, including Coin basewith mixed results.
Trump may have an opportunity to immediately reshape the SEC. In addition to Gensler’s soon-to-be-vacated seat, two of the other four commissioners’ terms expire in 2024 or 2025.
Commissioners may serve up to 18 months after the end of their term. Presidential appointments to the SEC are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
