Crenshaw’s departure means that the SEC no longer has a Democratic representative, and the agency and other US financial regulators are also without leaders.
Caroline Crenshaw, the only Democrat in charge of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will leave the agency this week after more than five years of service.
Crenshaw is set to leave the SEC by Saturday, which is 18 months after her tenure ended in June 2024. If the Senate hasn’t confirmed a replacement, commissioners can keep working at the agency.
The Democratic commissioner, who took office in August 2020, has regularly criticised how the agency handles digital assets. She spoke out against the SEC settling its case against Ripple Labs and said that making rules for digital assets less strict might cause “significant market contagion.”
SEC left with three republican commissioners
There will only be three Republican commissioners left at the SEC after she leaves. Two of them were selected by President Donald Trump. Trump has not said anything by Friday that would suggest he planned to nominate another Democrat to the SEC. However, it is believed that the president will fill seats to keep the balance between Democrats and Republicans.
Commissioners Hester Peirce, Mark Uyeda, and Chair Paul Atkins said in a statement on Friday that Crenshaw had been a “steadfast advocate for the agency’s mission.” She hadn’t said anything publicly about what jobs she would want to accept in the private sector when she left.
Leadership gaps extend to other financial regulators
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, another important financial regulator that monitors digital assets, is struggling to find leaders. Before the Senate went on holiday, they confirmed Trump’s choice to head the agency, Michael Selig. However, he is the only commissioner at the CFTC, and there are four empty seats.
Caroline Pham, who became the acting chair of the CFTC in January, left soon after Selig’s confirmation. She became the chief legal and administrative officer for MoonPay, a startup that processes cryptocurrency payments.
Shift toward softer crypto enforcement
The CFTC and SEC, both led by people Trump approved of, have been less strict with digital assets since the president took office. They have dropped enforcement proceedings and talked to industry leaders more often than they did in the past.
On Monday, Representative Maxine Waters asked for a hearing to examine at the SEC’s decision to drop crypto cases and what she called “questionable policy changes.”