A member of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who is emphatically critical of Bitcoin and crypto may lose her spot at the agency’s high table on June 5, government records suggest.
Per the SEC’s website, Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw was sworn into her position alongside Commissioner Hester M. Peirce (aka “Crypto Mom”) on August 17, 2020. Both have terms that are due to expire on June 5 – less than 50 days from today.
SEC Commissioner Approaches End Of Term
According to Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terret, recent White House statements and nominations show no signs that Crenshaw or anyone else has been nominated to fill her position after her term is finished.
NEW: l got lots of messages yesterday asking if the @GaryGensler resignation rumor was true.
Firstly, it’s an election year and there’s a high possibility these could be his final few months as chairman, a position he likes, so it’s unlikely he would throw in the towel early.… pic.twitter.com/DBihpCeLjY
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) April 19, 2024
“The White House had no comment on the matter,” Terret said.
The revelation follows rumors earlier this week that SEC chairman Gary Gensler may soon resign after he posted a Twitter thread on Tuesday that read somewhat like a goodbye message.
Several crypto-supportive congressmen, including Tom Emmer, have called on Gensler to resign for his hostile treatment of the industry and failure to adequately protect investors from its true bad actors.
Under his leadership, the agency has filed dozens of enforcement actions against top crypto firms accusing them of securities law violations, while their leaders say the regulator’s evaluation of the law with respect to crypto is both unclear and outdated.
Terret believes the likelihood of Gensler actually resigning during an election year is slim to none, and the odds of finding a nominee to replace him are “virtually impossible.”
Crenshaw’s Views On Bitcoin
Crenshaw’s potential exit could be more important for the industry. Unlike Gensler, she voted not to approve Bitcoin spot ETFs for U.S. markets in January even though the agency had already lost a court case on the matter months prior.
“These Commission actions are unsound and ahistorical,” Crenshaw wrote in a dissenting letter at the time. “And worse, they put us on a wayward path that could further sacrifice investor protection.”
The commissioner added that spot Bitcoin ownership is highly concentrated and said the crypto spot markets are a “petri dish” of fraudulent conduct.
“If the technology is so revolutionary, why do so many of its uses seem to revolve around recreating the existing financial system, except with less regulation, more opacity, fewer investor protections, and more risk?” she added.
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