On Sunday, a rumor arose in the crypto market about the likely resignation of US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler. According to reports from an anonymous official at the regulatory entity, the SEC Chair was poised to quit as a result of an internal agency inquiry.
Gary Gensler’s fake resignation news crush the crypto community
However, the SEC’s public relations (PR) team disputes rumors of Chairperson Gary Gensler’s resignation, putting to rest speculation in the crypto world.
Interestingly, the crypto community is requesting a regulatory change rather than a headhunt, citing the possibility that a new SEC Chair will be worse than Gensler in terms of anti-crypto enforcement activities.
The crypto ecosystem experienced one of the largest enforcement actions in the first week of June 2023, with back-to-back lawsuits against crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance. The top two exchanges were charged with securities law violations.
Eleanor Terrett, a prominent journalist for Fox Business, contacted the SEC’s internal staff via email to confirm the alleged resignation. The SEC responded with an email debunking the claim.
Terrett shared a screenshot of the email response she received from the SEC’s public relations team, which simply stated “NOPE” in response to allegations that Gensler would resign as chairman.
In light of Senator Ben Cardin’s retirement in 2024, it is possible to recall that Gensler may be inclined to compete for the Maryland Senate seat. Therefore, it was hypothesized that Gensler’s Baltimore, Maryland, origins could make him an ideal candidate for the Senate. John Deaton, the attorney representing XRP holders in the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit, believes that the SEC Chair’s resignation in the future months is a strong possibility due to political action.
Crypto community reacts
Based on the initial reaction to the rumor of Gensler’s departure from the SEC, if the news were true there would have been a significant crypto rally. Ben Armstrong, a crypto influencer, verified that the resignation news was merely a rumor. Indicating the possibility of Gensler’s new role and capacity outside the SEC, he stated that the SEC Chair may not resign if he decides to depart in the near future.
A proponent of decentralization mirrored Deaton’s sentiment, questioning the veracity of the reports given that just one website had reported the alleged resignation of the SEC chairperson. The Twitter user compared the study to an AI-generated text, highlighting the importance of supporting such assertions with sufficient facts.
While others remained suspicious, another commentator advised keeping an open mind and considering the likelihood that the allegations were true based on past accurate disclosures published on Twitter.
An XRP enthusiast brought attention to a previous incident involving a fraudulent post about Ripple’s buyback in a related comment. The Twitter user asserted that the same dubious blog that claimed Ripple was purchasing back 10 billion XRP tokens was also responsible for the rumor that Gensler had resigned.
Despite the SEC’s clarifications, the allegations have had a significant impact, as evidenced by the significant market volatility that followed the announcement. This incident demonstrated how speculation and rumors can influence the volatile crypto market.
After the Gary Gensler resignation rumor was discredited, approximately $15 billion returned to crypto markets. This has caused total market capitalization to reach $1.26 trillion, with a daily increase of 1.98% at the time of writing.
BTC remained relatively stable on the day at $30,763, whereas Ethereum experienced a greater movement. ETH was trading 1.7% higher at $1,949 on July 3rd 2023.
