Ripple‘s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, recently voiced his concerns in a tweet about SEC chairman Gary Gensler and Vice President Joe Biden. He also highlighted the diversified demographic of cryptocurrency users—more than 40 million Americans from all backgrounds, who are mostly young adults aged 18-34. Also, his tweet sparked a thought that this could be an issue for Biden in the upcoming elections.
Taking into account these data points, Alderoty highlighted that he considers Gensler to be a political risk with his appointment as SEC Chair in 2021 by President Joe Biden. He believes that the current Chair symbolizes an enormous hazard for the Administration because cryptocurrency supporters who are feeling mistreated due to the agency’s measures will never again support any candidate who is so hostile towards digital currencies.
As a reaction to the SEC’s enforcement on Kraken, Gensler has released an essential cautionary message for other platforms. He suggests that they should pay attention and learn from Kraken’s mistake of suspending its staking services in the U.S. and paying a hefty $30 million fine.
Hester Peirce, a member of the SEC, criticized their decision as “patronizing” and “sluggish.” She went even further by discussing how they were too quick to shut down a program that had been beneficial to many people instead of looking for alternative solutions.
Despite Gensler’s attempts to explain the reasoning behind their decision, which included communicating directly with market participants and a commitment to being technology-neutral, the crypto community reacted unfavorably.
Numerous crypto advocates have called for Gensler’s resignation, arguing that the SEC has not been able to protect investors adequately during his tenure. John Hickenlooper, a Democratic U.S. Senator, even wrote an open letter of complaint to Gensler in October 2022, expressing dissatisfaction with the Commission’s policy concerning cryptocurrency regulations.
