Government records show that a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who has been strongly critical of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies may lose her seat at the agency’s high table on June 5.
According to the SEC’s website, Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw was sworn into office along with Commissioner Hester M. Peirce on August 17, 2020. Both have terms that expire on June 5 – less than 50 days from today.
SEC commissioner nears end of term
According to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terret, recent White House statements and appointments do not indicate that Crenshaw or anyone else has been nominated for her post after her term ends.
The disclosure was prompted by rumors earlier this week that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler may soon resign from his post after he posted a Twitter thread on Tuesday that sounded a bit like a farewell message.
Several cryptocurrency-supporting congressmen, including Tom Emmer, have called for Gensler’s resignation due to his hostile treatment of the industry and his failure to adequately protect investors from its really bad actors.
Under his leadership, the agency has taken dozens of enforcement actions against top crypto companies, accusing them of securities law violations, while their leaders say the regulator’s assessment of the law with regard to cryptocurrencies is unclear and outdated.
Terret believes that the likelihood of Gensler actually resigning in an election year is slim to none, and that the chances of finding a candidate to replace him are “virtually impossible.”
Crenshaw’s views on Bitcoin
Crenshaw’s potential departure may be more important for the industry. Unlike Gensler, she voted in January not to approve Bitcoin ETFs for U.S. markets, even though the agency had already lost a court case on the issue months earlier.
“These actions by the Commission are unreasonable and ahistorical,” Crenshaw wrote in a separate letter at the time. “Worse, they have brought us down a crooked path that may further sacrifice investor protection.”
The commissioner added that bitcoin ownership is highly concentrated and said that cryptocurrency spot markets are a “petri dish” of fraudulent behavior.
“If the technology is so revolutionary, why do so many of its applications seem to focus on replicating the existing financial system, except with less regulation, more transparency, less investor protection and more risk? “She added.
