Significant policies proposed by US President Donald Trump were addressed this week in a media appearance by both the former SEC chair and Paul Atkins, the current head of the agency.
No regrets about his crypto enforcement strategy were expressed by Gary Gensler during a rare media appearance, his first since leaving the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January after a four-year tenure.
In a Wednesday interview, the former SEC chair was asked by CNBC’s Sara Eisen to respond to the agency under Paul Atkins “reversing a lot of what [he] did” regarding crypto policies. Eisen noted that many investors were “ecstatic” he was no longer heading the commission.
Gensler Defends Crypto Crackdown as He Exits SEC
A sense of pride for his time at the SEC was expressed by Gensler. He claimed he had made the right decisions on regulating digital assets and reiterated his assertions that crypto was a “highly speculative, very risky asset.”
A consistent effort was made to ensure investor protection through SEC enforcement actions against crypto companies while he was chairman, Gensler said. He added that there were many fraudsters, citing Sam Bankman-Fried as an example and noting he was not the only one.
Gensler’s departure from the SEC occurred on Jan. 20, the same day US President Donald Trump was inaugurated. A threat to fire him “on day one” if elected had been made by Trump during his 2024 campaign. After leaving, Gensler returned to a teaching position at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Many in the crypto industry widely criticized the former SEC chair’s regulation-by-enforcement approach to digital assets, which resulted in lawsuits against high-profile companies. Some of those cases were later dismissed in 2025 under the direction of the SEC under Trump.
Quarterly Reporting Requirements Challenged by Trump
Amid a crypto market downturn, massive fraud through the FTX exchange, and numerous company bankruptcies during Gensler’s tenure as SEC chairman from 2021 to 2025, a radical change in approach has been made by the agency under Trump.
A series of lawsuits and investigations against crypto companies were dropped by acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda before Atkins’ confirmation. The agency’s leadership has also since stated that “very few tokens are securities” and introduced streamlined listing standards for crypto ETF approvals.
The abandonment of its quarterly reporting requirements for US companies was suggested by Trump on Monday, in favor of a twice-a-year model. This could be one of the most significant policy changes at the SEC to affect investors.
It was stated by Atkins on Friday that the SEC would “consider that and move forward” after a proposed rule change.
It was stated by Atkins that, “For the sake of shareholders and public companies, the market can decide what the proper cadence is.”
A call for the investor base, or buy side, to “speak up” was made by Gensler on Wednesday regarding the proposed change. He said that he believes transparency helps markets, and that reporting only twice a year instead of four times will cause markets to be a bit more volatile.
