Breaking: Anti-Crypto SEC Commissioner to Leave Agency

Anti-crypto SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw will almost certainly not serve another term at the agency. 

As reported by U.Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs was supposed to vote on her re-nomination on Wednesday. However, this hearing has now been canceled due to the lack of floor time, according to Punchbowl News. Since Crenshaw is extremely unlikely to be re-nominated next year, this means that she will be leaving the SEC.  

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Crenshaw, who was one of the two commissioners who voted against the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, was vehemently opposed by major cryptocurrency industry players, including Coinbase and Ripple. She briefly emerged as the main nemesis of the industry, with crypto lobbyists arguing that she is even more hostile to crypto than SEC Chair Gary Gensler.  

There was a huge push by the industry to convince lawmakers to vote against Crenshaw's re-nomination. There was even a billboard truck targeting the anti-crypto commissioner parked in Washington, DC.  

For now, Crenshaw remains an SEC commissioner, but she is now highly likey to leave the agency alongside Gensler and Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga. Had she been reconfirmed, she would have served as an SEC commissioner until 2029.     

The SEC will now have only Republican commissioners in early 2025. However, it is required to have at least two commissioners from the Democratic Party as well to remain bipartisan. Crenshaw is now extremely unlikely to be re-nominated to fill a minority seat on the commission next year. 

In the meantime, crypto-friendly libertarian Paul Atkins was recently nominated to replace Gensler.