SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda details the three main steps President-elect Trump will take to end the “war on crypto.”
According to a note From the White House Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump nominated Republican Commissioner Mark Uyeda to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission as acting chairman.
This appointment follows Trump’s official inauguration ceremony on Monday morning.
Uyeda, now serving his second five-year term at the SEC, will serve as acting head of Wall Street’s top cop while Trump’s choice for permanent chairman, Paul Atkins, awaits confirmation by the Senate, a process that could take several months.
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RENARD Company previously reported that Uyeda was likely to receive the acting presidency since fellow GOP commissioner Hester Peirce had privately expressed that she was not interested in that role, preferring instead to lead what will be the agency’s new approach to regulate the $3.5 trillion cryptocurrency industry, sources say. familiar with the subject.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nominee Mark Toshiro Uyeda speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, on May 19, 2022. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Staff members for Uyeda and Peirce, as well as an SEC spokesperson, did not respond to a request for comment.
Under Uyeda’s leadership, the SEC is poised to begin rolling back policies established by progressive Biden Chairman Gary Gensler, who officially resigned from his post on Monday.
Some of the changes Uyeda is expected to oversee include suspending the enforcement of climate-related disclosure rules that require companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as potentially limiting the scope of the climate change track. Consolidated Audit (CAT), a large database designed to track greenhouse gas emissions. all stock and options trades in U.S. financial markets that critics say pose privacy and data security concerns.
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Perhaps most closely watched will be Uyeda’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation and whether he will end Gensler’s so-called “regulation by enforcement” crackdown, who approved more than 100 legal actions against the industry during his four-year term.
Gary Gensler, Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, testifies during a Senate Oversight Hearing on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to examine the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 12. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Uyeda and Peirce, nicknamed “Crypto Mom” for her supportive stance toward the industry, have been outspoken critics of how the Gensler-led commission has handled efforts to bring the digital assets sector into compliance.
“I think our policies and our approach over the last few years have been a complete disaster for the entire industry,” Uyeda said in an interview with FOX Business in November.
Uyeda also mentioned that he aims to help President Trump fulfill his campaign promise to end what he called the Biden administration’s “war on crypto.” This could involve, according to Uyeda, stopping the agency’s new enforcement actions against crypto companies that have no shortage of allegations of fraud or harm and have failed to register with the commission . Additionally, this could involve reviewing all cases currently in dispute regarding this issue. Some of these ongoing cases include Coinbase, Kraken, and blockchain payments company Ripple, all of which the SEC sued for failing to record sales of cryptocurrency tokens, despite unclear laws surrounding the classification of digital assets .
Establishing clear regulations for digital assets is a top priority for the new SEC Commission under the Trump administration.
Like Uyeda, Peirce has also spoken out publicly against regulatory crackdowns and has been a proponent of so-called “safe harbors,” which allow companies working with emerging technologies such as blockchain and AI to operate under agency oversight, but without the threat of coercive action.
Hester Peirce, Commissioner of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, at the Permissionless II event in Austin, Texas, September 11, 2023. (Thomas Allison/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Peirce is expected to take a leading role in reevaluating the agency’s approach to crypto by creating and leading an “internal crypto task force” that will foster open dialogue with industry stakeholders and will begin the process of bringing more clarity to the digital assets sector. through potential new regulations.
It is unclear how quickly planned policy changes at the SEC will take place. Uyeda and Peirce are currently the only members of the Republican Party serving on the commission, alongside Caroline Crenshaw, now the only Democrat after the resignation of Gensler and fellow Democratic commissioner Jaime Lizárraga. Besides Atkins, Trump will also appoint another Republican member to the commission and two other non-Republican commissioners.
At the same time, many in the crypto world, as well as former and current politicians, are praising Trump’s choice of Uyeda.
“Mark Uyeda has the knowledge and integrity to make a great SEC chairman,” said former Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey. “Mark is intelligent, fair, diligent and has a deep respect for the rule of law.”
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Meanwhile, the SEC’s sister agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is expected to take on more responsibilities in regulating cryptocurrencies, will be led by Acting Chair Caroline Pham, appointed to the position by Trump on Monday. He has not yet named a permanent president. Pham is also a proponent of transparent cryptocurrency policies and regulations that promote technical innovation.
“Caroline Pham has earned her place as Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,” said Chris Giancarlo, former CFTC Chairman. “She is hardworking, open-minded and very forward-thinking, exactly the characteristics that distinguish the CFTC as a market regulator. I am confident that she will continue to strengthen the agency’s global recognition in matters market intelligence and sophistication.”
