Crypto Celebrates Gensler's Exit – Bitcoin Hits $99K, $XRP Leads Gains

Celebrations are underway across the cryptocurrency community after U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler announced he will step down on Jan. 20, 2025.

Gensler's exit announcement triggered a surge across the crypto market, with Bitcoin passing $99,000 for the first time and XRP leading the 24-hour gains.

As per CoinGecko data, BTC spiked as high as $99,300 early on Friday, increasing 2.3% in the last day amid a seven-day spike above 12%, while XRP has been on a stellar 24.9% surge in the past day amid a weekly increase of over 70%.

All other cryptocurrencies within the Top 10 are in the green since Gensler's announcement, but XRP is the biggest gainer, outperforming Bitcoin and other top altcoins.

Crypto Leaders Bid Farewell to Crypto's Nemesis

Gensler, widely criticized and disliked by the crypto community for his leadership that led to multiple lawsuits and Wells Notices from the SEC against crypto firms since 2021, announced his pre-term resignation Thursday.

"The [SEC] staff comprises true public servants. It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of everyday Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world," he wrote in a press release.

Gensler will officially leave the agency on during President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

Crypto executives and prominent figures in the industry have since commented on the development, with TRON blockchain founder Justin Sun saying "Gary, it's a little too late. The damage is done, and it's massive, scarring U.S. markets, the global economy, and everyday people." He offered to give a job to the outgoing SEC chief.

Jack The Rippler, prominent figure in the XRP community, said it was Gensler's "step down" that turned out to be his "biggest achievement as the SEC Chair."

ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees opted for a more sarcastic tone, saying, "But who will protect the investors," referring to Gensler's repeated insistence that the regulatory agency's actions against crypto were all done to protect American investors.

Red Pill, a well-followed figure in the Chainlink (LINK) community, thanked Gensler "for protecting no one" from the actual scams that took place in the industry, calling the Biden appointed leader "a complete failure" who "set America back years in crypto."

Well-known cypherpunk Sal Mayweather said Gensler was "the worst bureaucrat we had," while prominent XRP user Weezie said the SEC chair has gone from being "the best thing that could've happened to this space" because of his blockchain knowledge to becoming "the worse not only for the space but for our country."

$XRP Community in High Spirits

While the broader crypto community is celebrating wildly through memes and posts regarding Gensler's upcoming exit, no other community is celebrating as intensely as the XRP Army.

Many of the XRP holders' posts were filled with angst, but also with relief – Gensler's predecessor filed a lawsuit against Ripple, the largest holder of the XRP token, but Gensler's SEC pushed the case forward, driving the crypto asset's price down.

XRP was the world's second-largest digital currency before its legal scuffle with the SEC turned awry. It has since fallen to the 6th spot as of November 2024, but XRP holders are hopeful a new SEC leader will do better change things up.

Gensler's exit announcement is now called the "Gensler effect" on posts showing charts of how XRP and crypto prices reacted to the news. Quite interestingly, Trump has yet to announce his pick to replace the outgoing SEC chair.