As President-Elect Donald Trump prepares to assume office, the crypto industry is closely watching his administration’s potential picks for key financial regulatory positions. With promises to end the “war on crypto” initiated under the Biden administration, Trump is expected to overhaul leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other financial agencies.
Will Dan Gallagher Lead The “Peace With Crypto”?
According to Reuters, Trump’s transition team is considering Dan Gallagher, a former Republican SEC commissioner from 2011 to 2015 and the current Chief Legal and Compliance Officer at Robinhood Markets Inc., as a front-runner for the SEC chair position. Gallagher is highly regarded among crypto executives who contributed millions to Trump’s campaign.
Also under consideration is Paul Atkins, another former Republican SEC commissioner and the CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a consultancy firm. Atkins served on Trump’s transition team in 2016 and was previously a contender for the SEC chair role. Robert Stebbins, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and former SEC general counsel during Trump’s first term, is also being discussed for top financial regulatory roles.
“President-Elect Trump will begin making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration soon. Those decisions will be announced when they are made,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, current SEC commissioner Mark Uyeda has publicly expressed his intention to support Trump’s agenda to end the regulatory crackdown on crypto. Uyeda, who has served on the commission since 2022, is likely to become the acting chair when Trump takes office in January, according to a FOX Business report.
“The Commission’s war on crypto must end, including crypto enforcement actions solely based on a failure to register with no allegation of fraud or harm. President Trump and the American electorate have sent a clear message. Starting in 2025, the SEC’s role is to carry out that mandate,” Uyeda told FOX Business.
Uyeda’s stance aligns with Trump’s campaign promise to halt the aggressive enforcement actions initiated by current SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Under Gensler’s leadership, the SEC has brought over a hundred enforcement actions against firms in the past three years, targeting both fraudulent activities and unregistered securities offerings.
While some cases involved clear instances of fraud and money laundering—such as the charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the now-bankrupt exchange FTX—others have targeted established firms like Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, ConsenSys, and Cumberland DRW for allegedly selling unregistered securities.
Gensler has maintained that all tokens, except Bitcoin, are securities falling under the SEC’s jurisdiction—a position that has faced significant opposition from the industry, legal experts, and members of Congress. With his term set to end in 2026, Gensler has indicated he will step down when the new administration takes over.
Hester Peirce, another Republican SEC Commissioner known for her pro-crypto views and dubbed “Crypto Mom,” was initially seen as a strong candidate for the SEC chair. However, sources indicate that she is not interested in the role. Instead, Peirce is reportedly keen on leading an internal “crypto task force” aimed at re-evaluating the SEC’s approach to digital assets and fostering open dialogue with industry stakeholders.
Peirce has been a vocal advocate for “safe harbor” provisions that would allow crypto companies to operate under regulatory oversight without the immediate threat of enforcement actions. A staffer for Peirce declined to comment on her intentions.
Uyeda has also criticized the SEC’s current approach to crypto regulation, describing it as a “disaster for the whole industry” during an appearance on FOX Business. “We have been sending this ‘policy through enforcement,’ we’ve done nothing to provide guidance on it,” he said.
At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2,512 trillion.
Featured image from Los Angeles Times, chart from TradingView.com
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