Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler Backed Crypto in Private, Says McHenry
According to former US Representative Patrick McHenry, Gary Gensler, the former Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), may have held a less antagonistic stance toward crypto in private settings than his public persona suggested.
During a May 13 episode of the Crypto in America podcast, McHenry shared insights from his private interactions with Gensler, where the ex-regulator conveyed a more complex perspective on digital assets.
When asked if Gensler was as anti-crypto behind closed doors as he was publicly, McHenry responded with a firm, “No… Nope.”
He pointed out that Gensler recognized “the value of digital assets” and acknowledged the potential of blockchain technology from his time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Gerald Gallagher, general counsel at Sei Labs, also highlighted Gensler’s involvement in shaping the concept of the airdrop during his academic career, referring to it as a largely overlooked aspect of his background.
However, McHenry noted that Gensler’s position changed significantly once he took the helm at the SEC. “I had this weird, mistaken, stupid belief that he wouldn’t be that bad as SEC chair,” McHenry confessed, expressing his profound disappointment.
Source: Crypto in America
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Gensler’s crypto stance was “confusing”
McHenry described his discussions with Gensler regarding crypto regulation as often perplexing.
He explained that conversations concerning legal frameworks would begin on reasonable grounds but would quickly become contradictory. Gensler would often agree with certain points, only to later refute the same facts he had previously acknowledged.
McHenry suggested that Gensler’s public opposition to crypto was likely influenced more by “Senate politics and confirmation politics than anything else.”
After leaving the SEC on January 20, Gensler returned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to teach courses on fintech and AI.
Throughout his tenure, which began in 2021, the SEC adopted a vigorous regulatory approach toward the crypto sector, initiating over 100 regulatory actions against companies within the industry.
This regulatory aggressiveness attracted significant scrutiny and backlash from industry leaders, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who declared in December 2024 that the crypto exchange would cut ties with law firms that employed former SEC officials involved in what he described as an effort to “unlawfully kill” the crypto industry.
In January 2025, Gemini stated it would not hire any MIT graduates unless the university removed Gensler from his teaching position.
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