Former SEC Division of Enforcement Assistant Director Jennifer Lee stated on Might 2 that Donald Trump’s attainable reelection seemingly gained’t change the SEC’s stance on crypto.
Lee informed CNBC the SEC “vigorously pursued crypto circumstances” throughout Trump’s first presidential time period and that it introduced “daylight and regulation” to the burgeoning trade.
She predicted that the SEC would proceed to “outline its area and attain over crypto” if Trump served a second presidential time period.
The SEC is extra constant about whether or not particular cryptos fall throughout the company’s scope, however the extent of its jurisdiction over the trade stays an open query, Lee stated.
Lee didn’t touch upon the SEC’s precise actions throughout Trump’s first time period. Nonetheless, then-SEC chair Jay Clayton critically introduced some crypto gross sales beneath the SEC’s purview circa 2018, together with throughout a Senate listening to the place he stated all ICOs he had seen had been securities.
Clayton additionally believed that some cryptos, together with Bitcoin, weren’t securities on the time.
Others anticipate pro-crypto insurance policies
One other ex-SEC member, Former Chief of the SEC Workplace of Web Enforcement John Reed Stark, has argued that the SEC beneath Trump is probably not harsh on crypto.
Stark stated in September {that a} Republican-appointed SEC chair would seemingly “decelerate significantly” the SEC’s crypto enforcement efforts. He additionally advised that Trump could change his anti-crypto angle to cater to single-issue crypto voters.
Stark famous that Trump has important crypto holdings, an assertion backed by monetary filings associated to Trump’s NFT ventures.
Others have advised a equally mild contact. In January, Home Majority Whip Tom Emmer stated a second Trump administration might be “extra pleasant” to crypto.
In March, Trump himself advised a measured strategy to crypto regulation.
No matter coverage change, a change in presidential administration might impression SEC management. SEC chairs usually resign throughout administration modifications. As such, present SEC chair Gary Gensler, whose time period lasts till June 2026, might resign within the occasion of a Trump victory.
The seemingly end result of the US presidential election is unknown. FiveThirtyEight predicts that Trump and Biden have equal odds of profitable, with Trump at 41.7% and Biden at 40.7%.
