Gensler's Crypto Stance Could Cost Biden 2024 Election: Mark Cuban

Billionaire Mark Cuban, like many other American voters, appears to be watching the campaigns of President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump closely as he suggested that the Democratic leader may lose the November 2024 elections if he doesn't make a choice about the cryptocurrency industry.

Crypto lawyer Preston Byrne tagged the well-known investor in a post that said the ex-president's crypto policy "is actually very substantive and well thought out" while the incumbent president's policy on digital assets "is insane and punitive."

Cuban responded to the post, saying he doesn't believe any of the presidential frontrunners understand the sector. He particularly pointed out that Trump probably doesn't know more about crypto "beyond saying he made money selling NFTs (non-fungible tokens)."

On the other hand, he also said the Democratic leader is just as unknowledgeable about the emerging industry. He said he believes the current president "has to choose between [Gary] Gensler or crypto voters or it could cost him the White House."

This is not the first time Cuban warned about Gensler potentially costing Biden the upcoming elections. Last month, the Dallas Mavericks investor said that "crypto is a mainstay with younger and independent voters" and Biden has to realize how the SEC chief had been treating the crypto industry.

He said Gensler has not protected investors in the crypto sector from fraud and instead has made it almost impossible for legitimate firms to operate in the country, "killing who knows how many businesses and ruining who knows how many entrepreneurs." He further noted that "crypto voters will be heard this election."

Cuban isn't the only digital assets advocate who believes Gensler's hostile approach toward the industry will have a negative impact on the Biden campaign's second attempt to lead the White House.

Stuart Alderoty, the chief legal officer of fintech giant Ripple, which is behind the XRP token, said Gensler "overplayed" his role as the head of the financial regulatory agency and "thought he was above Congressional oversight."

Following the attention from lawmakers who believe that there had been "overreach" in some of the lawsuits the SEC filed against crypto firms, Gensler has become "a struggling political liability," Alderoty said.

The SEC has been under increasing scrutiny in recent months following multiple challenges by crypto companies, including a revelation by blockchain firm Consensys that the regulator already deemed Ether (ETH) as a security since last year even if Gensler refused to clarify the matter during a Congress hearing.