\n<\/p>\n
The head of the US financial regulator, Gary Gensler, will resign from his role on the day of President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration.<\/p>\n
Mr Gensler confirmed the news on social media platform X after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said its 33rd chairman would step down on 20 January next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thank President Biden for entrusting me with this incredible responsibility. The SEC has met our mission and enforced the law without fear or favor,” Mr Gensler said.<\/p>\n
Trump revealed plans to sack Mr Gensler on “day one” of his new administration after the chairman took legal action against crypto firms, sparking controversy in some quarters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Appointed SEC chair in 2021, Mr Gensler’s term is technically supposed to run until 2026, but it is normal for agency leaders to depart their positions when a new administration begins.<\/p>\n
The president-elect and Mr Gensler have very different views on cryptocurrencies, which has sparked tension between them.<\/p>\n
At a Bitcoin conference in July, Trump said he would make the US “the crypto capital of the planet”.<\/p>\n
In contrast Mr Gensler told the BBC in September that it was an industry \u201crife with fraud and hucksters and grifters\u201d.<\/p>\n
Under the Biden administration, SEC has led a crackdown on the industry, which resulted in a record high of 46 enforcement actions last year.<\/p>\n
Those cases led to the founders of two of the world\u2019s biggest crypto platforms, FTX\u2019s Sam Bankman-Fried<\/a> and Binance\u2019s Changpeng Zhao<\/a>, being sentenced to jail.<\/p>\n It’s thought the new Trump administration will put far less resources into policing the industry.<\/p>\n The SEC has also clashed with tech billionaire Elon Musk – who has become a strong ally of Trump’s. <\/p>\n It has been investigating Mr Musk for potential fraud involving his purchase of social media platform X in 2022 – Mr Musk has accused the SEC of harassment and has refused to continue cooperating with its investigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n