On Jan. 20, 2025, the United States will start a new chapter in more ways than one. While the nation will be focused on President Trump’s inauguration as our 47th President, the U.S. financial sector will be celebrating the resignation of Joe Biden’s Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, Gary Gensler.
As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, I am well aware of Gensler’s heavy-handed approach in stifling innovation and shackling the American economy’s engine. His punitive stance was particularly damaging in the burgeoning field of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
While touting his actions as measures to protect investors, Gensler leveraged contrived ambiguity to undermine the growth and technological advancements that make U.S. markets competitive and drive promising projects offshore, including the development of the next generation of the internet.
Under Gensler’s leadership, the SEC’s enforcement-focused agenda frequently did more harm than good, and “regulatory uncertainty” was used to attack American crypto exchanges like Bittrex, Kraken, and Coinbase, with Bittrex explicitly citing the effects of Gensler’s approach when it exited the U.S. market.
The question isn’t whether cryptocurrency requires regulation — it unquestionably does. Cryptocurrency, by its very design, challenges traditional financial systems and demands an entirely different regulatory framework — one that balances consumer protection with the need to foster innovation. With the price of bitcoin recently breaking the $100,000 threshold, digital assets have demonstrated their staying power, and investors have already embraced their potential.
Last year, I was proud to help the House pass the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, a bill championed by our incoming Financial Services Chair French Hill. FIT 21 represents a groundbreaking shift in the legislative landscape and would establish a responsible new regulatory framework that clearly defines the role of the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. This would offer much-
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Author: Mike Lawler
