Former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler may not have been as angry with the crypto behind the closed doors as he appeared publicly, according to former US representative Patrick Mchenry.
On a May 13 look at Crypto in America Podcast, Mchenry declared that during private meetings with Gensler, the former regulator announced a more nuanced view of digital assets.
“Did he find, or was he as anti-crypto in private as he did in public?” Mchenry asked. His response: “No … nope.”
Mchenry noted that “Gensler saw the value of digital assets” and recognized the potential of blockchain technology in his time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Gerald Gallagher, general advice on the SEI Labs, also noted that Gensler played a role in developing the concept of AirDrop during his academic work, calling it a forgotten chapter in his background.
However, once Gensler became a SEC chair, Mchenry said his stance was noticeably moving. “I have a strange, mistaken, stupid belief that he won’t be as bad as the SEC Chair,” Mchenry admits. “And I mean, just the level of frustration.”
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Gensler’s crypto bearing “confusing”
Mchenry said discussions with Gensler in crypto regulation are often confusing.
Mchenry explained that Gensler talks about legal frameworks and content structures often started as justified, but quickly contradicted. He described how Gensler would agree at some point, only to deny the same facts he had recognized for a moment.
According to Mchenry, Gensler’s public opposition could be more “political and confirmation political and confirmation than anything else.”
Then Removal to SEC On January 20, Gensler returned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to teach Fintech and AI.
Under Gensler’s tenure, which began in 2021, the SEC created an aggressive regulation of crypto, carrying up 100 regulation actions against industry companies.
Regulation hate also caused the Gensler and his team a thorough investigation and backlash from industry leaders.
In December 2024, CEO of Coinbase Brian Armstrong announced that the crypto exchange would join law companies using former SEC officials involved in what he said was an effort to “illegally kill” the crypto industry.
In January 2025, Gemini also said Not a landlord Any graduates from MIT unless the university dropped the former Gensler from his teaching role.
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