Gary Gensler, chairman of US markets regulators the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has announced his departure from the agency, effective from next January.
Genlser, who was appointed by Democrat President Joe Biden in April 2021, has faced intense animosity from president-elect Donald Trump.
Trump was outwardly hostile to Gensler during his election campaign, when he pledged to remove Gensler as SEC chair if he won office.
Won office Trump did in November, setting the stage for a showdown between the two figures when Trump enters the White House in January.
Gensler’s conservative approach to cryptocurrency regulation was at the centre of their tepid relationship.
He is a hawkish crypto sceptic who showed little willingness to engage with the industry. Trump, on the other hand, sought to court the crypto vote during his campaign by promising a raft of pro-crypto policies, including firing Gensler.
Gensler launched numerous high-profile securities proceedings against major crypto platforms including Ripple Labs, Binance and even Nasdaq-listed Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN).
Despite his animosity toward crypto, he gave the green light to spot-bitcoin and spot-ether exchange-traded funds earlier this year, following years of campaigning for asset managers including BlackRock and Grayscale.
But Gensler remains highly critical of crypto as an investment. Speaking at the Practising Law Institute’s annual conference in New York, he stated: “This is a field in which over the years there has been significant investor harm.
“The vast majority of crypto assets have yet to prove out sustainable use cases.”
The announcement could provide even more fuel to the bitcoin rally, which has been on fire ever since Trump won the presidency.
Trump is expected to appoint a pro-crypto chair to replace Gensler.