Donald Trump Promises To Fire Gary Gensler as SEC Chair On Day One

• Donald Trump promised to sack Gary Gensler on his first day in office as president.
• The Bitcoin community applauded Trump’s statement.
• Trump plans to build a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to sack Gary Gensler, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair, on day one if he gets re-elected. Trump made the promise while speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville.

The Bitcoin community applauded Trump’s statement, reflecting their displeasure with the SEC chair over his handling of the cryptocurrency sector during his tenure. Most crypto users see Gensler as a hostile figure, considering his history of regulatory enforcement. They have also criticized him for refusing to create rules specific to the crypto industry.

It is worth noting that President Biden nominated Gensler in 2021, and the latter has led the commission since then. Hence, Trump’s promise to fire the SEC chair on day one implies he would relieve Gensler of his duties despite having one more year before completing his tenure as the head of the commission.

Firing Gensler is one of the multiple promises Trump made to the Bitcoin community. Another statement he made, which the community welcomed, is about his plans not to sell any of the government’s Bitcoin holdings. The former president said he would create a “strategic national Bitcoin stockpile” if re-elected.

Notably, the U.S. government has about 210,000 Bitcoins in its holdings, representing 1% of the total Bitcoin supply that will ever exist, most of which the government seized from cybercriminals and operators in the darknet. Trump promised to create a policy enabling his government to keep 100% of all the Bitcoins it holds or acquires.

Trump is the first presidential campaign from a major party to make Bitcoin and cryptocurrency a core campaign issue. He has repeatedly made statements to woo that sector of U.S. voters, capitalizing on the crypto industry’s frustrations with the Biden administration over its pattern of regulatory enforcement.