Ripple General Counsel Views SEC Chair as Biden Administration’s Political Liability

The SEC Chair has attracted criticisms from the crypto community, representing many American voters.

Ripple General Counsel Stuart Alderoty believes Gary Gensler, Chairperson of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, serves as a political liability for the Joe Biden administration due to his adverse enforcement actions against crypto firms. These enforcement actions, including the recent ones against Kraken and Paxos, have triggered animosity among crypto proponents.

Alderoty made these remarks while addressing the current situation surrounding the SEC’s recent aggressive moves through his official Twitter handle today. He highlighted that over 40 million American citizens own cryptocurrencies, with the majority being between 18 and 34, indicating they are of voting age.

Over 40 million Americans own crypto. Most of those are between the ages of 18-34 and are demographically and racially diverse. That’s a lot of votes. Gary Gensler is a political liability.

— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) February 13, 2023

Stats suggest that Alderoty’s claims are accurate. A study from last month revealed that about 46 million Americans own a share of Bitcoin, representing 22% of the adult population. An NBC poll from last March showed that one in five Americans has dabbled in cryptocurrencies in one form or the other, with the majority of proponents being men between the ages of 18 and 49.

Considering these stats, Alderoty noted that he believes Gensler is a political liability, having been nominated by president Joe Biden in 2021. This would mean the SEC Chair poses a political risk to the Biden Administration, as these aggrieved crypto proponents, totaling millions, would never support anyone in the future doing so much against the crypto market.

Several crypto proponents have repeatedly called for Gensler to resign, alleging that, under his leadership, the SEC’s enforcement actions do nothing to protect consumers. U.S. Democrat Senator John Hickenlooper also criticized Gensler’s approach to crypto regulations in an October letter.

A Cluster of Enforcement Actions 

Alderoty’s recent comments on Gensler come amidst the uproar triggered by the SEC’s latest slew of enforcement moves. The regulatory watchdog disclosed last Thursday that crypto exchange Kraken had agreed to discontinue its staking service and pay $30M to settle charges leveled against it. Despite Gensler’s attempt to explain the rationale behind the move, the reception from the crypto community was not favorable.

Shortly after the enforcement action against Kraken, reports surfaced suggesting that the SEC is looking to sue Paxos, the official issuer of Binance’s BUSD stablecoin, for violating guidelines to protect investors. Paxos officially disclosed today that it would end the issuance of new BUSD tokens on Feb. 21 following a directive from the NYDFS.

Recall that Fox News reporter Eleanor Terrett revealed last Thursday that Gensler is attempting to go on a “midnight massacre” for the U.S. crypto scene to bring it under his control. Terrett warned of numerous incoming enforcement actions from the SEC, NYDFS, and OCC in the coming weeks.

?SCOOP: @GaryGensler is embarking on a "midnight massacre" in an attempt to bring all of #crypto under his control. In the coming weeks, the @SECGov, @NYDFS and the @USOCC will be bringing a myriad of enforcement actions against exchanges, banks

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) February 9, 2023