Gary Gensler, the chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), played a clever trick on X users by making them believe that he was resigning from his position. However, he quickly clarified that he was “not done” yet.
In an April 17 post on X, Gensler expressed his gratitude for serving as the SEC Chair and acknowledged the hard work of the SEC staff in serving investors and issuers. He then mentioned the more than 2,000 enforcement actions and rules that the SEC had finalized under his leadership, which seemed to lead up to his resignation announcement. But he ended his post by stating, “And we’re not done,” leaving readers surprised.
These posts quickly went viral, with over 1.1 million views on X. Crypto trader Jordan Fish, also known as Cobie, described it as a “legendary and respectable troll thread.” Bloomberg Litigation Analyst Elliott Stein noted that it initially seemed like a resignation tweet but turned out to be intentional, given Gensler’s trolling tendencies.
Scott Johnsson, a general partner at Van Buren Capital, pointed out that Gensler’s posts focused on the number of enforcement actions rather than addressing other important aspects. He compared it to the Department of Justice or Bureau of Prisons highlighting the number of incarcerations, suggesting a lack of focus.
During Gensler’s leadership, the SEC saw a significant increase in crypto-related enforcement actions, reaching a 10-year high with 46 actions against crypto firms in 2021. This has led some industry executives and lawmakers to accuse Gensler of taking a “regulation by enforcement” approach to crypto, as the SEC has filed lawsuits against numerous crypto companies, claiming they are securities.
Gensler, on the other hand, has criticized the crypto industry for its fraud and manipulation and has emphasized the need for companies to comply with regulations.
In response to Gensler’s post, the crypto community on X found their own way to retaliate. An unofficial Crypto Twitter archivist, known as “inversebrah,” pointed out that the crypto community managed to generate more engagement on their replies than Gensler’s original post, referring to this as a “ratio.” Some of the replies received three times more likes than Gensler’s post.
Gensler was nominated by U.S. President Joe Biden to chair the SEC in 2021 and began his tenure on April 17 of that year. While he could serve as chair until April 17, 2026, it is customary for the SEC chair to resign if a new president is elected. Americans will have the opportunity to vote on November 5, and there is a possibility of a rematch between Biden and former president Donald Trump.
In the world of crypto regulation, many wonder if Gary Gensler has the final say as the SEC Chair.