It’s strange to think now how crypto received Gary Gensler as he became Securities and Exchange Commission chair in 2021. At the time, he was a breath of fresh air for an industry that badly needed change. His SEC predecessor, Jay Clayton, had seemed largely disinterested in digital assets, whereas Gensler had taught courses on blockchain at MIT. He was supposed to get it. And being a person who got it, we thought, he would surely find a sensible way between the need to uphold existing law and allowing a promising industry to grow.
How wrong we were.
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These days, nearly everyone in crypto, or close to it, dislikes Gensler’s tenure. He hasn’t provided any legal clarity to token issuers, many say; he hasn’t helped Congress fashion any new crypto-focused legislation (just look at the docket); he’s wound up a lot of people as he pushed an agenda that often seems self-interested and self-centered.
This week, Fortune Magazine took a deep look at Gary’s time at the SEC and put meat on what many of us already know in outline. It’s a great piece based on interviews with “more than 30 financial experts, politicians, and current and former employees from all levels at the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, including agency leaders,” and you should read it. But, in case you don’t have time, we’ll summarize a few of the takeaways here, especially as they relate to crypto.
A political animal
He may be a regulator, but he acts more like a politician.
Gary Gensler previously served as CFTC chairman, taking the reins of a backwater agency following the 2008 financial crisis. He lobbied to expand that agency’s powers in legislation enacted at the time, pushing a raft of new rules and creating office space for CFTC staffers across the country (much of which was left empty because of budget constraints). In 2016, he joined Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and then tied his fortunes to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who then, as now, leads a movement to crack down on Wall Street and crypto.
Now, he apparently has his eyes on becoming Treasury Secretary when the position becomes open again. “The running rumor…
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