SEC Chair Gary Gensler Resigns
Commentary by Steven Lofchie
The SEC reported that Chair Gary Gensler will step down from the Commission effective at 12:00 pm on January 20, 2025.
Mr. Gensler began his tenure on April 17, 2021. The SEC said he "led the agency through a robust rulemaking agenda to enhance efficiency, resiliency, and integrity in the U.S. capital markets" and "oversaw high-impact enforcement cases to hold wrongdoers accountable and return billions to harmed investors."
Commentary
The SEC must now turn its immediate attention to the question of how to regulate cryptocurrencies. The SEC's greatest shortcoming under Chair Gensler have been the failure to devote resources to the development of workable regulation (and legislation) on cryptocurrencies.
The incoming Administration has committed to stopping the enforcement onslaught against virtually every participant in the crypto industry. That should bring significant relief, at least to those not engaged in fraud. As far as legitimate crypto enterprises, the SEC will have to figure to how to proceed without any regulatory framework that it can implement that allows real businesses to develop and discourages fraud. It's going to be a scramble.