Gary Gensler to leave role as SEC chairman

The head of the US financial regulator, Gary Gensler, will resign from his role on the day of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Mr Gensler confirmed the news on social media platform X after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said its 33rd chairman would step down on 20 January next year.

“I thank President Biden for entrusting me with this incredible responsibility. The SEC has met our mission and enforced the law without fear or favor," Mr Gensler wrote.

Trump revealed plans to sack Mr Gensler on "day one" of his new administration after the chairman took legal action against crypto firms, sparking controversy in some quarters.

Appointed SEC chair in 2021, Mr Gensler's term is technically supposed to run until 2026, but it is normal for agency leaders to depart their positions when a new administration begins.

The president-elect and Mr Gensler have very different views on cryptocurrencies, which has sparked tension between them.

Values of different cryptocurrencies have been rising since Trump won the election, with Bitcoin reaching a record high value of $98,000 (£77,955) on Thursday.

Investors believe Trump will rein in enforcement action and that any regulation will be lighter with a Republican in charge than it might have been under Democrats.

Crypto firms donated at least $119m to Congressional candidates they think will pass legislation that is more favourable to their interests.

At a Bitcoin conference in July, Trump said he would make the US "the crypto capital of the planet".

He also launched his family’s cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, in the middle of his campaign but there have been very few details released about it so far.

In contrast Mr Gensler told the BBC in September that it was an industry “rife with fraud and hucksters and grifters”.

Under the Biden administration, the SEC has led a crackdown on the industry, which resulted in a record high of 46 enforcement actions last year.

Those cases led to the founders of two of the world’s biggest crypto platforms, FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, being sentenced to jail.

It is thought the new Trump administration will put far less resources into policing the industry.

"Gary Gensler is going to go and everyone in the crypto community is incredibly excited," Kristin Smith, chief executive of the Blockchain Association, a group that represents crypto industry businesses, told BBC News.

"All he did was come after the industry with litigation... so we are happy to get him out of the way."

The president-elect is also reported to be considering appointing a presidential adviser focused solely on the crypto industry.

The SEC has clashed with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has become a strong ally of Trump's and who the president-elect has picked to lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency".

The regulator has been investigating Mr Musk for potential fraud involving his 2022 purchase of social media platform Twitter, which he later renamed X. Mr Musk has accused the SEC of harassment and has refused to continue co-operating with its investigation.

While there has been a lot of focus on the SEC’s regulation of crypto during Mr Gensler’s time as chair, he has also led tough rules in other areas.

Many of his reforms were focused on the architecture of financial markets, including measures to make big investment funds more resilient to shocks.

He also cut the amount of time it takes to settle deals when people buy and sell shares, helping ensure money changes hands quicker.

There was less success with efforts to get companies to better disclose the risks they face from climate change, new rules have been delayed as they make their way through the courts.