U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler testifies at the House Financial Services Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 27, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that Chairman Gary Gensler will resign on January 20, paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump to immediately choose a successor.
Gensler took over the SEC in 2021, and under his leadership, the commission has taken an ambitious but controversial approach to multiple regulatory issues, including cryptocurrencies. Trump has yet to announce his pick for SEC leadership, but the next chairman is expected to be more friendly to Wall Street and cryptocurrencies.
SEC commissioners serve five-year terms, so Gensler could theoretically stay on until at least 2026.
“The staff and committee are mission-driven and focused on protecting investors, promoting capital formation, and ensuring markets work for investors and issuers. The staff are true public servants. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve them.” Work with them on behalf of ordinary Americans to ensure our capital markets remain the best in the world,” Gensler said in the release.
Under Gensler, the SEC pushed to require more information from financial advisers to public companies and investors. The agency has also accelerated Settlement time for stock trades In just one day, the change was prompted in part by meme stock trading in early 2021.
Gensler’s SEC has been involved in several high-profile disputes with the cryptocurrency industry, including a legal battle with Grayscale to block a Bitcoin ETF. Grayscale won in court, and billions of dollars have flowed into the new funds since their launch in January. In recent years, the SEC has also sued several large digital asset companies over the way they handle or sell cryptocurrencies, including Coin librarywith mixed results.
Trump may have an opportunity to quickly reshape the SEC. In addition to Gensler’s soon-to-be vacant seat, the terms of two of the other four commissioners are set to expire in 2024 or 2025.
Members may continue to serve for up to 18 months after their term ends. The appointment of the SEC Chairman is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
