Crypto hopes that 2024 US election signifies the end of SEC boss Gary Gensler
Last Updated on 24 September 2024 by CryptoTips.eu
Normally, a new American president also means a breath of fresh air through the various institutions he or she manages. A new minister of finance, a new secretary of state, and so on. SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission) boss Gary Gensler, ‘baba jega’ of the big bogeyman according to many crypto CEOS, is also coming to the end of his term in the foreseeable future.
It is common for SEC chairmen resign from their positions when a new administration takes office. Of course, if Harris wins, some expect that she will simply continue to work with the same team as Biden.
Donald Trump, who declared his love for all things crypto in the last few months, has been promising for a while that he would fire Gensler (he received deafening applause during the big Bitcoin conference in Nashville when making the statement), but it is still unclear what Kamala Harris will do. Will she continue Joe Biden’s policies and appoint Gensler for a second time, or will she listen to the voice of many crypto fans and replace him with someone who is more positive and openminded about digital currencies?
Critical
As Bitcoin touched $64,000 yesterday, everything seems on the up and up again for the crypto world. A new record high for Bitcoin was already set in March this year and many are hoping that the Federal Reserve’s announcement last week to cut interest rates by 50 basis points will set us up for an even higher Bitcoin record before the end of the year.
As from next year though, a lot also depends on who takes a seat in the White House and especially who becomes (or remains) boss of the SEC. Gary Gensler, the current chairman of the American stock exchange watchdog, is very critical of crypto and many former crypto celebrities were convicted under his leadership.
In March, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and boss of FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud. Many former FTX customers are still trying to get their money back from FTX.
In April, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was given a four-month prison sentence and his company was forced to pay a $4.3 billion fine.
In August, Gensler also began an investigation into OpenSea, the largest NFT platform in the world. OpenSEA CEO Devin Finzer has a lot of friends in Silicon Valley. He tried to put pressure on Gensler in order to replace him as quickly as possible.
Gensler also tried to obtain the extradition of Terra Platforms founder Do Kwon to the United States, but it does not look like he will succeed. According to the latest reports, Kwon will be extradited to South Korea, where he will likely receive a lighter sentence than he would have faced in the United States.
120 million dollars
The various large crypto companies in the United States realize how important the presidential elections are and have therefore already donated some $120 million, mainly to Republican candidates. That’s more than the oil industry or other major industrial sectors in the United States.
The team around Harris has been somewhat more positive about crypto as of late, but nothing is certain of course.
In any case, there are more and more news articles indicating that major Democratic donors are now also keen to get rid of Gensler, especially now that BlackRock is also preparing to start trading Bitcoin futures and options. Interesting times.
