SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who led US crackdown on cryptocurrencies, to step down

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler will step down from his post on January 20.

Since taking the lead at the SEC, the commission has been aggressive in its oversight of cryptocurrencies and other regulatory issues.

President-elect Donald Trump had promised during his campaign that he would remove Gensler, who has led the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry and repeatedly called for more oversight. But Gensler on Thursday announced that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated.

Bitcoin has jumped 40% since Trump's victory.

Gensler served in his position during the SEC's adoption of critical enhancements to the $28 trillion U.S. Treasury markets; the first significant updates to the $55 trillion U.S. equity market in almost 20 years and a number of changes related to corporate governance.

“The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike," Gensler said in prepared remarks Thursday. “The staff comprises true public servants. It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of everyday Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world.”

Gensler previously served as Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, leading the Obama Administration’s reform of the $400 trillion swaps market. He also was senior advisor to U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes in writing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) and was undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance and assistant secretary of the Treasury from 1997-2001.