President Trump nominates Mark Uyeda as acting chairman of the SEC

According to a memo from the White House on Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump has tapped GOP Commissioner Mark Uyeda to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission as acting chairman.

The appointment follows Trump’s inauguration on Monday morning.

Uyeda, currently serving his second five-year term at the SEC, will serve as Wall Street’s interim top cop while Trump’s choice for permanent chairman, Paul Atkins, is pending Senate confirmation, a plan that says. it may take several months.

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FOX Business previously reported that Uyeda may get the chairman position as fellow GOP Commissioner Hester Peirce has privately indicated she is not interested in the role, preferring to lead what will be the agency’s new approach to regulating the $3.5 trillion cryptocurrency industry. , according to sources familiar with the matter.

Employees of Uyeda and Peirce, as well as an SEC spokesman, did not respond to a request for comment.

Under Uyeda’s leadership, the SEC is poised to begin reforming policies established by Biden’s successor, Gary Gensler, who officially resigned from the position on Monday.

Some of the changes Uyeda is expected to oversee include temporarily suspending the enforcement of climate-related disclosure laws that require companies to report greenhouse gas emissions, and limiting the scope of the consolidated audit trail (CAT), a large database designed to track emissions. all stock and options trading in US financial markets that critics say pose privacy and data security concerns.

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Perhaps the most closely watched will be Uyeda’s way of controlling cryptocurrency, and that he will end the so-called ‘law enforcement’ crackdown imposed by Gensler, who authorized over 100 legal actions against the sector during his four-year tenure.

Gary Gensler, Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, testifies during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing to investigate the US Securities and Exchange Commission, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 12. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Uyeda and Peirce, dubbed “Crypto Mom” ​​due to her pro-industry stance, have been highly critical of how the commission under Gensler has managed efforts to bring the digital goods industry into line.

“I think our policies and our approach over the last few years have been a disaster for the entire industry,” Uyeda said in an interview with FOX Business in November.

Uyeda also indicated that he intends to assist President Trump in fulfilling his campaign promise to end what he called the ‘crypto war’ of the Biden Administration. This may include, according to Uyeda, the establishment of new agency enforcement actions against crypto firms that have no suspicion of fraud or harm and have failed to register with the commission. In addition, it may include reviewing all current cases related to this issue. Some of these ongoing cases include Coinbase, Kraken, and blockchain payment company Ripple, all of which the SEC has accused of failing to register cryptocurrency token sales, despite vague rules surrounding the classification of digital assets.

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Establishing regulatory clarity for digital assets is a top priority for the new SEC commission under the Trump administration.

Like Uyeda, Peirce has also spoken out publicly against regulatory crackdowns and has been a proponent of so-called “safe harbors,” which allow companies working on emerging technologies like blockchain and AI the ability to operate under agency recognition but without. the threat of enforcement actions.

Hester Peirce, commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, during the Permissionless II event in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 11, 2023. (Thomas Allison/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Peirce is expected to play a leading role in re-evaluating the agency’s approach to crypto by creating and leading an internal “crypto task force” that will encourage open dialogue with industry players and begin the process of providing more transparency to the digital asset sector. through potential new laws.

It is unclear how quickly any planned policy changes at the SEC will occur. Uyeda and Peirce are the only GOP members on the commission, along with Caroline Crenshaw, now the sole Democrat following the resignation of Gensler and fellow Democrat commissioner Jaime Lizárraga. In addition to Atkins, Trump will also appoint another GOP member to the commission and two other non-Republican commissioners.

At the moment, many in the crypto world, as well as former and current politicians are praising Trump’s choice of Uyeda.

“Mark Uyeda has the experience and integrity to make an excellent SEC Chairman,” said former Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey. “Mark is smart, fair, diligent, and has a deep respect for the law.”

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Meanwhile, the SEC’s sister agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is set to take on more responsibilities in the regulation of cryptocurrency, will be led by acting chairman Caroline Pham, who was appointed by Trump on Monday. He has not yet fully appointed a chairman. Pham is also a proponent of transparent policies regarding cryptocurrency and regulations that promote technological innovation.

“Caroline Pham has earned her spot as Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,” said former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo. “He is hard-working, open-minded and very forward-looking, which are characteristics that distinguish the CFTC as a market regulator. I am confident that he will continue to enhance the agency’s global recognition for market intelligence and sophistication.”