Former SEC Division of Enforcement Assistant Director Jennifer Lee stated on Might 2 that Donald Trump’s attainable reelection possible received’t change the SEC’s stance on crypto.
Lee advised CNBC the SEC “vigorously pursued crypto circumstances” throughout Trump’s first presidential time period and that it introduced “daylight and regulation” to the burgeoning business.
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 inside the company’s scope, however the extent of its jurisdiction over the business stays an open query, Lee stated.
Lee didn’t touch upon the SEC’s actual actions throughout Trump’s first time period. Nevertheless, 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 possible “decelerate significantly” the SEC’s crypto enforcement efforts. He additionally steered that Trump might change his anti-crypto perspective 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 steered a equally mild contact. In January, Home Majority Whip Tom Emmer stated a second Trump administration may very well be “extra pleasant” to crypto.
In March, Trump himself steered a measured method to crypto regulation.
No matter coverage change, a change in presidential administration might impression SEC management. SEC chairs usually resign throughout administration adjustments. As such, present SEC chair Gary Gensler, whose time period lasts till June 2026, might resign within the occasion of a Trump victory.
The possible end result of the US presidential election is unknown. FiveThirtyEight predicts that Trump and Biden have equal odds of successful, with Trump at 41.7% and Biden at 40.7%.
