A Year After Gensler’s Departure, SEC’s Crypto Strategy Has Transformed
In January 2025, Gary Gensler stepped down from his position as the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during Donald Trump’s inauguration. Many within the cryptocurrency sector expressed criticism of Gensler’s regulatory and enforcement strategies regarding digital assets. His tenure led companies like Ripple Labs to support political action committees (PACs) in favor of pro-crypto candidates for the 2024 U.S. elections.
After Gensler’s resignation, Trump appointed Mark Uyeda as acting chair, leading to a drastic policy reversal regarding digital assets. The SEC saw reductions in numerous lengthy investigations and a restructuring of its leadership to consist primarily of Republican members.
Ending Crypto Investigations and Lawsuits
In February, shortly after Uyeda took charge, the SEC announced it would discontinue a civil enforcement action against Coinbase that began in 2023. This marked the start of many similar dismissals of lawsuits against cryptocurrency firms, especially those that had financially supported pro-crypto candidates.
The agency also concluded its investigations of Robinhood Crypto and Uniswap Labs. A pivotal change occurred in March when Brad Garlinghouse announced that the SEC would drop its appeal related to Ripple’s 2020 enforcement action.
Continuing under Uyeda’s leadership, additional dismissals came, especially after Trump’s nominee to chair the SEC, Paul Atkins, was confirmed in April. Questions arose about whether these dismissals stemmed from Trump’s closeness to the cryptocurrency sector, especially considering his family’s involvement with ventures like World Liberty Financial and their profits from the crypto market.
SEC Hosts Crypto Roundtables Awaiting Regulatory Guidelines
By 2025, the SEC organized a series of crypto roundtables engaging industry, legal, and policy experts to discuss financial privacy, asset custody, and decentralized finance, among other subjects. This was in anticipation of a comprehensive crypto structure bill, the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, aimed at providing clear operational guidelines for financial regulators.
Despite the bill passing the House of Representatives, its progress in the Senate faced delays, particularly after Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew support.
Departure of Democratic Commissioners from SEC
In January 2025, Gensler and former SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga were among the first to leave, resulting in Caroline Crenshaw being the sole Democrat in leadership. After remaining for several months, Crenshaw exited in January 2026 without any new commissioner nominations from Trump to maintain a bipartisan balance.
Following his public service, Gensler returned to the MIT Sloan School of Management as a finance professor and continues to express views on cryptocurrencies being speculative assets.
