A U.S. lawmaker is pushing Congress to pass a bill calling for the removal of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler. This comes in the wake of the SEC filing a second lawsuit against the crypto exchange Kraken within a year, following the exchange’s $30 million settlement for an initial lawsuit.
Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH) took to the social media platform X on Tuesday, urging Congress to pass his SEC Stabilization Act and oust Gary Gensler, the current SEC Chairman. The SEC filed its second lawsuit against Kraken on Monday, alleging that the crypto trading platform operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency. Kraken had previously settled a charge in February related to its staking program, agreeing to a $30 million payment.
Jesse Powell, Kraken’s co-founder and former CEO, expressed frustration on social media, stating, “USA’s top decel is back with another assault on America … I thought we settled all their concerns for $30m in Feb. Now they’re back for seconds?” Powell emphasized the message that a $30 million settlement only buys about 10 months before facing additional regulatory challenges from the SEC.
In response to Powell’s comments, lawyer John Deaton shared his opinion on platform X, stating, “Gary Gensler is a despicable and dishonorable regulator. He knew that Kraken believed it was buying peace for the $30M.” Deaton highlighted the challenges faced by companies in legal battles with regulatory bodies, citing examples like Ripple and Brad Garlinghouse, who spent over $150 million and continue to incur significant legal fees.
Representative Davidson introduced the SEC Stabilization Act in June, aiming to remove SEC Chair Gary Gensler to safeguard U.S. capital markets from what he referred to as a “tyrannical chairman.” The proposed bill would eliminate the role of chairman while maintaining the current commissioners, with the addition of a sixth commissioner to ensure a balanced representation without more than three members from any one political party.
