This Friday marks Gary Gensler’s last full day as the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ripple, the San Francisco-based enterprise company known for its association with the XRP cryptocurrency, is already celebrating Gensler’s imminent departure.
“Starting tomorrow, ‘Gary who?’ will be the only appropriate response if someone mentions his name. Onward,” Stuart Alderoty, chief legal officer at Ripple, said on social media.
Earlier this week, the SEC filed its opening brief in the much-talked-about appeal against Ripple.
However, Alderoty has already dismissed the new development as merely “noise,” expressing confidence that the incoming SEC administration would toss the lawsuit.
Earlier, Reuters reported that the new SEC leadership could freeze some cryptocurrency-related enforcement cases that do not involve fraud.
As reported by U.Today, the Ripple boss announced that he would step down from his post in late November.
Gensler has just stated that it has been “a privilege of his lifetime” to serve as the head of the SEC.
It has been the privilege of a lifetime to work for you as @SECGov Chair.
Over the last four years, we updated rules in our equity market & Treasury Markets, & shortened the settlement cycle. We returned more than $2.7B to harmed investors.
A quick look at the last four years: pic.twitter.com/gUBfaiURMx
— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 17, 2025
Gensler, who once told an MIT class on crypto and blockchain, spearheaded the SEC back in 2021. He was initially viewed as a pro-crypto pick by the industry, with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghuse expressing support for his appointment.
However, the crypto industry quickly turned against Gensler due to the SEC pursuing lawsuits against various prominent crypto companies.
During a recent interview, Gensler also downplayed the SEC’s crypto crackdown, claiming that it accounted only for 5% of the agency’s law enforcement.
