This scenario could spark Gary Gensler’s resignation: Former SEC official

The US’ securities regulator may utterly u-turn its strategy to crypto enforcement, relying on a key election in the US in 2024, in response to former SEC official John Reed Stark.

In an Aug. 13 tweet, the previous SEC Workplace of Web Enforcement chief predicted {that a} Republican President may drastically shift the crypto-regulatory tide, together with the potential resignation of SEC chief Gary Gensler.

There are presently a lot of Republican candidates within the operating. Former-President Donald Trump remains the preferred candidate amongst Republican voters, adopted in a distant second by Florida Governor Ron de Santis after which by South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. 

Ought to a Republican be elected as President, in response to Stark, Gensler would possible get replaced by crypto-friendly Hester Peirce — sometimes called “Crypto Mother.”

Will the SEC Approve Any Of The Latest Bitcoin Spot ETF Purposes?

Folks typically ask for my opinion on whether or not the SEC will approve any of the latest spate of bitcoin spot ETF functions, which is an attention-grabbing and necessary query.

My take is that the present SEC will… pic.twitter.com/lPXebl03Y4

— John Reed Stark (@JohnReedStark) August 13, 2023

Stark famous Peirce’s historical past of dissent and opposition to most of the regulator’s crypto-related enforcement, and defined that if Peirce had been to turn into the top of the SEC:

“The world ought to anticipate that almost all U.S. SEC crypto-related enforcement and most crypto-related SEC disruption would grind to a screeching halt.”

Stark additionally drew consideration to the rising polarization of crypto regulation inside the SEC and U.S. politics extra broadly.

When Stark first started writing about crypto in 2017, he mentioned {that a} various scope of politicians held the identical viewpoint, with then-President Donald Trump, Secretary Hilary Clinton and Congresswoman Maxine Waters all agreeing that crypto was a “harmful and horrific plague.”

Now, crypto has turn into a much more divisive subject. Republican candidate Ron de Santis mentioned he plans to “protect” Bitcoin (BTC) and vowed to ban central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) if elected President.

On the opposite aspect of the fence, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has made a number of concerted efforts to crack down on all types of crypto within the nation, going so far as forming an “anti-crypto army” as a part of Senate re-election marketing campaign.

Till such a time when a Republican sits within the oval workplace, Stark mentioned it was unlikely that the regulator would turn into any extra pleasant in the direction of crypto, predicting that the SEC will reject the present swathe of spot Bitcoin ETFs for a spread of “compelling” causes.

Citing an Aug. 8 Higher Markets SEC Remark letter, Stark shared that spot Bitcoin markets have a historical past of artificially inflated buying and selling volumes, are extremely concentrated inside the palms of some actors and depend on a small group of choose entities to take care of the Bitcoin community. This reportedly leaves traders “extraordinarily weak” to manipulation by unhealthy actors.

Regardless of a lot of trade heavyweights from the world of conventional finance, equivalent to BlackRock and Fidelity lodging applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF product, Stark believes the SEC will finally reject the entire excellent filings.

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