Gary Gensler
Gary Gensler is a notorious figure in the crypto space due to his years-long crackdown on the industry. AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Washington Reporter first floated the rumor that has since been debunked by an industry executive and a Fortune reporter
  • Even with the rumor being debunked as false, crypto users expressed intense opposition to the notion
  • One user noted that Gensler's 'war' on crypto was a much bigger factor than Democrats could imagine
  • Realio's Derek Boirun insisted the rumor is true until Harris herself clarifies that it's false

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler is already a widely disliked figure in the cryptocurrency community, but a new rumor suggesting Vice President Kamala Harris will nominate him as Treasury Secretary if elected has united crypto users to declare a "hard pass."

A promotion to glory?

Harris is planning to nominate Gensler as Secretary of the Treasury Department if she wins in November, as per a Washington Reporter story Monday that cited "multiple senior Senate staffers."

The said report also cited an earlier story wherein Republican Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota warned that Harris may actually pick Gensler or Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., another wildly disliked politician in crypto, to lead the Treasury Department.

Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long soon debunked the rumor, saying "multiple Dems" reached out to her to refute the claims. "One thinks the source of the rumor is Gensler himself – (thinks he planted it just to mess with all of us...that sounds about right TBH)," Long wrote.

Fortune Magazine reporter Leo Schwartz has also slammed the report as something that crypto Twitter shouldn't take seriously.

A 'hard pass' on Gensler

Despite the rumor being debunked by multiple experts, many crypto users still didn't let the idea go, with most saying it's a "hard pass on Gensler."

One user said that while Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump obviously has "no clue on crypto," the SEC chief's "war" against Bitcoin and the broader crypto industry "is a much bigger factor than many Democrats may imagine" and Harris' "obfuscation" of the matter will ultimately turn into "a plane going down with no engines."

Another user urged the vice president to fire Gensler – the reason allegedly being that the SEC chair "is after crypto because CZ (Changpeng Zhao) didn't give him a job at Binance."

The said issue was revealed by Binance lawyers last year, who alleged that Gensler offered to serve as an advisor to Binance's parent company back in 2019. Zhao's lawyers further alleged that Gensler tried to get close to the company before kicking off his crackdown on the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume. The SEC started investigating Binance.US and Binance in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

One user said Harris and her campaign will only "force" all crypto voters to opt for Trump in November if she considers nominating Gensler for the position.

Realio network's founder and CEO Derek Boirun said Harris should be the one clarifying the rumor. "It's true until she says it's not," he said.

Repeated calls to action

The heightened emotions of crypto users despite the rumor being debunked may stem from the SEC's crackdown on the industry over the years. Under Gensler's leadership, many crypto firms faced lawsuits over supposed sales of unregistered securities – some of the legal battles are still ongoing.

Harris has been urged multiple times by crypto groups and industry leaders to speak up on her actual thoughts about crypto. She has not publicly discussed digital assets yet, but she is said to be prepared for a "reset" with the sector.

She appears to be gaining popularity among Polymarket traders, where crypto users bet on the likelihood of future events using various digital assets. As of early Tuesday, she is leading Trump by 1% on the platform's event contract that seeks to predict who will win the November 2024 election.

Read more