For the last three years, crypto firms’ prime nemesis has been Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler, who they accuse of pursuing an unfair vendetta against the industry. In response, the industry has spent huge sums on the 2024 election in a bid to replace Gensler.
While Republican candidate Donald Trump has promised to remove Gensler on day one— which may or may not be possible— there is a strong possibility that the SEC chair will be replaced no matter who wins the White House as Harris has recently diverged from Biden’s hardline anti-crypto stance, and voiced her support for a regulatory framework around digital assets.
While it is almost a guarantee that Trump will replace Gensler if elected, Harris is also reportedly considering a different SEC chair, raising questions about who that might be — and how they will regulate crypto assets.
Jenice Malecki, who chairs the New York State Bar Association’s Securities Arbitration Committee, prosecutes a wide range of security fraud cases and has a growing interest in those involving crypto.
“It looks like Trump and Harris are both open to crypto investing, maybe Trump more so given some of his policies,” Malecki said.
Malecki told Fortune who she believes both candidates are considering for chair, saying that Trump might pick Dan Gallagher or Hester Peirce and Harris might pick Chris Brummer or Erica Williams.
If Trump wins
Trump has made courting the crypto vote an integral part of his campaign strategy this election cycle by speaking at this year’s Bitcoin conference, launching his own tokens and pledging to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet.”
Dan Gallagher worked in various positions at the SEC before he was appointed to the role of commissioner in 2011, where he occupied a Republican seat under the Obama administration until 2015.
Since then, he has employed his legal expertise in various capacities throughout the private sector before landing at Robinhood— a trading platform that offers users a wide variety of stocks and crypto assets— where he has spent the last four years serving as the platform’s Chief Legal Officer. Like many in the industry, he is eager to see Gensler go.
“Rather than issue rules to provide regulatory certainty to an industry craving it, the SEC has instead targeted individual firms, including Robinhood, through regulation by enforcement,” Gallagher said. “This is not the way Americans expect our government to work.”
Hester Peirce is another contender who currently serves as an SEC commissioner. She was appointed under the Trump administration in 2018 and has repeatedly voiced her dismay with the SEC’s aggressive crypto approach.
In an interview with CoinDesk in May, Pierce said that she thinks the SEC is, “using enforcement as the primary way to make policy in this area and that is just not the most effective way,” she said. “It’s not effective for the industry but it's also not effective for us as a regulator with limited resources.”
If Harris wins
While she has not gone as far as Trump, Harris has recognized the importance of pro-crypto voters this election cycle. The Democratic candidate has pledged to keep the U.S. a dominant player in blockchain technology and introduced a plan to back a regulatory framework for digital assets for Black men. However, Harris has been reluctant to fully embrace the sector for fear of alienating voters who view crypto as a scam.
Meanwhile, a recent Unchained report named two potential replacements being considered by the Harris campaign. Both could potentially be the first-non white chair of the SEC.
One potential SEC appointee reportedly being considered is Chris Brummer, a faculty director at Georgetown’s Institute of Economic Law who volunteered as part of the financial regulation transition team for the Biden Administration. He was also nominated by President Barack Obama to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission before President Donald Trump rescinded the nomination.
In May, Brummer announced the launch of his own crypto disclosure company called Bluprynt, backed by Robinhood and the former CEO of PayPal. His platform supports regulatory compliance for crypto firms around the world, focusing on the development and assessment white papers.
He is also the founder of DC Fintech Week, an annual policy event that has increasingly focused on crypto and blockchain.
Another contender for an SEC appointment in a Harris administration is Erica Williams, who currently serves as chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board which works closely with the SEC to protect investors by facilitating audits of public companies and broker dealers.
She previously served as special assistant and associate counsel on financial and economic policy under the Obama administration and practiced law at Kirkland and Ellis.
While Williams has not made many public comments about her stance on crypto, the Board did establish a team of inspectors to focus specifically on emerging audit risks including cryptocurrency, according to Unchained.
While the election is still undecided, the future of crypto legislation remains unclear but Malecki says no matter who takes over the SEC, regulation is necessary.
“One thing I would say is that non-regulation hurts everyone. It hurts the investors. It hurts the legitimate crypto dealers and it allows bad actors to run rampant…I don't know what it exactly should look like but certainly regulation is needed,” Malecki said.
