SEC Commissioner Mark Ueda detailed three main steps President-elect Trump will take to end the ‘war on cryptocurrency’.
according to a memorandum From the White House Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump has appointed GOP Commissioner Mark Ueda to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission as acting chairman.
The appointment took place after Trump’s official swearing-in ceremony on Monday morning.
Ueda, who is currently serving his second five-year term at the SEC, will serve as interim chief of Wall Street’s top cop while Trump’s choice for permanent chairman, Paul Atkins, awaits confirmation by the Senate. are, a process which may take several months.
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fox business first reported According to sources, Ueda was likely to get the acting chairmanship because his fellow GOP Commissioner Hester Pearce had privately expressed that she was not interested in the role, but would rather work on the agency’s new mandate to regulate the $3.5 trillion cryptocurrency industry. Would love to lead the approach. Familiar with the matter.
Mark Toshiro Ueda, member of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for President Biden, speaks during the confirmation hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on May 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Staff members of Ueda and Pierce, as well as an SEC press spokesperson, did not respond to requests for comment.
Under Ueda’s leadership, the SEC is set to begin reversing policies established by Biden’s progressive Chairman Gary Gensler, who officially resigned from the post on Monday.
Some of the changes Uyeda is going to oversee include pausing the enforcement of climate-related disclosure rules that require companies to report greenhouse gas emissions, as well as possibly expanding the scope of the consolidated audit trail (CAT). Limiting, which is a large database designed to track. Critics say that all stock and options trading in US financial markets raises privacy and data security concerns.
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Perhaps most closely watched will be Ueda’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation, and whether he will end the so-called ‘regulation by enforcement’ imposed by Gensler, who has taken over 100 legal actions against the sector during his four-year tenure. Was approved.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler testifies during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs oversight hearing to investigate the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 12. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Ueda and Pearce, known as “Crypto Moms” for their supportive stance toward the industry, have been vocal critics of how the commission under Gensler has managed efforts to bring the digital asset industry into compliance. Is.
“I think our policies and our approach over the last several years have really been a disaster for the entire industry,” Ueda said in an interview with Fox Business in November.
Ueda also noted that his goal is to help President Trump fulfill his campaign promise against what he referred to as the Biden administration’s ‘war on cryptocurrency.’ According to Ueda, this could include halting new agency enforcement actions against crypto firms that do not have allegations of fraud or harm and that have failed to register with the commission. Additionally, it may include a review of all cases currently in active litigation regarding the issue. Some of these ongoing cases include Coinbase, Kraken, and blockchain payments company Ripple, all of whom have been sued by the SEC for failing to register sales of cryptocurrency tokens, despite vague laws surrounding the classification of digital assets. .
Establishing regulatory clarity for digital assets is a top priority for the new SEC Commission under the Trump administration.
Like Ueda, Pearce has also spoken out publicly against regulatory action and has been a supporter of so-called “safe harbors,” which allow companies working with emerging technology like blockchain and AI to operate under agency oversight. Provides the capability, but without the threat of enforcement actions.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Pierce during the Permissionless II event in Austin, Texas on September 11, 2023. (Thomas Allison/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Pearce is expected to take a leading role in reevaluating the agency’s approach to crypto by creating and leading an internal “crypto task force” that will foster an open dialogue with industry players and stakeholders in the digital assets sector. Will begin the process of providing more clarity. Through possible new rules.
It is unclear how soon any planned policy changes will occur at the SEC. Ueda and Pierce are currently the only GOP members on the commission, along with Carolyn Crenshaw, who is now the lone Democrat following the resignation of Gensler and fellow Democrat Commissioner Jaime Lizarraga. In addition to Atkins, Trump will also appoint another GOP member and two other non-Republican commissioners to the commission.
Meanwhile, many people in the crypto world, as well as former and current politicians, are praising Trump’s Ueda pick.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey said, “Mark Ueda has the knowledge and integrity to be an excellent Chairman of the SEC.” “Mark is smart, fair, hard-working and has a deep respect for the rule of law.”
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Meanwhile, the SEC’s sister agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is set to take on more responsibilities in regulating cryptocurrencies, will be led by Acting Chairwoman Caroline Pham, appointed to the post by Trump on Monday. They have not yet appointed a permanent president. Pham is also a supporter of transparent policies regarding cryptocurrencies and regulations that promote technological innovation.
“Caroline Pham has earned her place as Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,” said Chris Giancarlo, former CFTC Chairman. “She is hard-working, open-minded and very visionary, exactly the characteristics that distinguish the CFTC as a markets regulator. I am confident that she will continue to enhance the agency’s global recognition for markets intelligence and sophistication. “