SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda is urging an end to the agency’s crypto war

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official Mark Uyeda has called for a change in the agency’s handling of cryptocurrency regulations.

The Republican commissioner’s sentiment aligns with President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to halt the Biden administration’s aggressive stance toward the digital asset industry.

Pause in the SEC’s enforcement approach

In a recent interview with Fox Business, Uyeda reiterated the need for the SEC to halt enforcement actions against non-fraud cases filed against various crypto companies.

“The Commission’s war on crypto must end, including crypto enforcement actions based solely on failure to register without allegations of fraud or harm.”

In the past three years, the regulatory agency launched more than a hundred enforcement actions against crypto-related companies. The actions targeted a range of wrongdoing, including serious ones such as fraud and money laundering, with one such case being the prosecution of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

However, others involved minor offences, including failure to comply with registration requirements. Lawsuits like the ones the SEC brought against Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, and Consensys fall into this category.

These claims were reportedly filed because SEC Chairman Gary Gensler interpreted most crypto tokens other than Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to qualify as securities under the jurisdiction of the agency

Experts, including attorney Jeremy Hogan and former SEC official John Reed Stark, have suggested that if Gensler resigns before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, a newly appointed chief could dispose of all non-fraudulent cryptographic cases. That could mean settling those with existing judgments and dismissing those still in litigation.

Speculation on the next SEC chair

The Fox Business report stated that Uyeda is among those considered by the incoming Trump administration to take over for Gensler should he step down. According to Reuters, other candidates for the position include Robinhood’s Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Dan Gallagher and Patomak Global CEO Paul Atkins.

The chair’s current approach to crypto regulation has made him a very unpopular figure within the industry, with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse describing his tenure as a “reign of terror.”

In addition, legal experts and members of Congress have also expressed their concerns, arguing that the financial watchdog should come up with clearer and more consistent regulations. Criticism has also come from within the SEC, with Uyeda and fellow commissioner Hester Peirce advocating for a more transparent and balanced approach to policing crypto.

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