Gary Gensler to leave role as SEC chairman

The head of the US financial regulator, Gary Gensler, will resign from his role on the day of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Mr Gensler confirmed the news on social media platform X after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said its 33rd chairman would step down on 20 January next year.

“I thank President Biden for entrusting me with this incredible responsibility. The SEC has met our mission and enforced the law without fear or favor," Mr Gensler said.

Trump revealed plans to sack Mr Gensler on "day one" of his new administration after the chairman took legal action against crypto firms, sparking controversy in some quarters.

Appointed SEC chair in 2021, Mr Gensler's term is technically supposed to run until 2026, but it is normal for agency leaders to depart their positions when a new administration begins.

The president-elect and Mr Gensler have very different views on cryptocurrencies, which has sparked tension between them.

At a Bitcoin conference in July, Trump said he would make the US "the crypto capital of the planet".

In contrast Mr Gensler told the BBC in September that it was an industry “rife with fraud and hucksters and grifters”.

Under the Biden administration, SEC has led a crackdown on the industry, which resulted in a record high of 46 enforcement actions last year.

Those cases led to the founders of two of the world’s biggest crypto platforms, FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, being sentenced to jail.

It's thought the new Trump administration will put far less resources into policing the industry.

The SEC has also clashed with tech billionaire Elon Musk - who has become a strong ally of Trump's.

It has been investigating Mr Musk for potential fraud involving his purchase of social media platform X in 2022 - Mr Musk has accused the SEC of harassment and has refused to continue cooperating with its investigation.