“I Will Fire Gary Gensler and Appoint a New SEC Chairman,” Trump
Trump’s Pro-Crypto Policies
At the July 27 Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Donald Trump pledged to fire the current Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman, Gary Gensler, on his first day in office if reelected as the president of the United States.
The Republican Party’s presidential nominee said that if he wins, he will ensure that “the persecution stops and the weaponization ends against your industry.” Additionally, he said, “I will appoint a new SEC chairman who believes that America should build the future, not block the future.”
Trump believes that Gensler’s departure from the SEC will create a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment in the United States as a “Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council” will replace him.
Trump’s announcement at the conference generated significant buzz among the audience, who appeared enthusiastic about Gensler’s leaving his position. The SEC chairman has faced criticism from crypto enthusiasts, who believe he is responsible for the agency’s crackdown on crypto firms like Coinbase, Ripple, Binance, and even its latest probe into Ether.
US SEC Calls Ether a Security
Gensler faced pushback, in part, due to the SEC’s regulatory actions against Ether, which some saw as overly broad. Earlier this year, the US SEC revealed its plans to regulate ETH as a security. The SEC’s decision led the software company Consensys to file a lawsuit against the agency as the realization of their plans would cause damages to the second-largest cryptocurrency.
Following Consensys’ lawsuit, the US SEC, led by Gary Gensler, claimed that Ethereum was an unregistered security. The probe into Ether, which caused its price to drop, eventually ended in June after the SEC dropped the case.
Trump is Pro-Crypto
One of Trump’s pro-crypto agendas on his reelection as America’s president is to maintain a “strategic national bitcoin reserve” in the country. He said, “If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, minted, and made in the USA. Crypto is going to the moon. I want America to lead the way.”
Showing that he is fully out to make the US a crypto-friendly country, Trump publicly acknowledged and commended some notable Bitcoin supporters at the conference. He called out Cathie Wood, and Michael Saylor. In addition, he mentioned the Winklevoss Twins, Tyler, and Cameron, who supported his campaign with Bitcoin donations.
