Official: Gary Gensler leaves the SEC, and Mark Uyeda Friendly to Digital Currency Appointed

Mark Uyeda will take over the management of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission while the agency awaits Senate approval of President Donald Trump's permanent appointee, Paul Atkins. Chairman Uyeda, a clear supporter of loosening the pursuit of the cryptocurrency industry by the regulatory agency, along with Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce, who has previously served Atkins as an advisor to the agency. Atkins, who was officially nominated just hours after Trump's swearing-in on Monday, is a former commissioner who has developed a relationship with cryptocurrency in his consulting business in Washington. Uyeda has expressed his strong views on the role of the SEC in relation to digital assets. He frequently criticizes the commission for actions to control cryptocurrencies, such as the so-called Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), which makes it difficult for banks to maintain customer digital assets. He stated that he supports its removal — a move currently within his jurisdiction.

The change of chairman has not yet been officially announced by this agency, although the remaining members — including Hester Peirce and Caroline Crenshaw — have issued a joint statement on former Chairman Gary Gensler's resignation. "Although as Commissioners, we approach policy issues from many different perspectives, there is always value in our differences," the commissioners said. "Chair Gensler has committed to bipartisanship and respectful exchange of ideas, which has helped facilitate our service to the American public." Gensler had previously announced that he would resign at noon on January 20 — the same time Trump took the oath of office. Gensler has become the main opponent of the government in the cryptocurrency industry in recent years. He has pursued enforcement actions, pushed controversial cryptocurrency accounting policies, supported proposals for strict regulations threatening the industry's business model, and temporarily blocked the establishment of instant cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs). On the latter point, a court ruling against the agency forced Gensler to act, and ultimately he voted with the Republican party on the committee to pave the way for ETFs. His agency has argued in court that the current law is sufficient to classify and regulate cryptocurrency. That view is supported by some federal judges and opposed by others, and the main questions are still being resolved by the court. Regardless of how long Uyeda remains in office, most senior legal officials who worked under Gensler, including those in the law enforcement and general counsel offices, are absent from his SEC. The Chairman has full authority to manage the office, but those in that position sometimes choose to follow the new Chairman and wait for important decisions. At the SEC's sister agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Republican party member Caroline Pham has been appointed as the chairperson there, although Trump has not yet designated an official successor to the soon-to-be-outgoing Democratic party chair, Rostin Behnam.

Unlike the CFTC, there is currently an even split between the parties at 2-2, with Republicans outnumbering Democrats at the SEC by 2-1. DYOR! #Write2Earn #Write&Earn $BTC {spot}(BTCUSDT)