🟪 If it quacks like a duck

_{Brought to you by:}

One might be forgiven for thinking that Gary Gensler’s latest speech represents a bit of a farewell tour.

It had all the trappings: mentions of parents, language pointing to a good fight in the name of market oversight, and expressions of gratitude to the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Was it a victory lap, or at least one that can claim to be? Kind of.

“Court after court has agreed with our actions to protect investors and rejected all arguments that the SEC cannot enforce the law when securities are being offered—whatever their form.”

The speech is also an indication that Gensler may quietly exit the stage as the Biden administration comes to a close. The alternative: attempting to hang on under President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised the crypto industry that he will sack Gensler once he takes office.

As far as Gensler speeches go, it’s not that remarkable — and Crypto Twitter/X certainly had a field day when it saw the writing on the wall: Gensler’s tenure is coming to a close.

It might be time to reckon with Gensler’s legacy before he heads to the door.

Whether you hate him (as I assume most readers do) or respect him, Gensler has undeniably shaped the crypto space. His enforcement-first crypto strategy — borne, one suspects, out of acknowledgment that Congress, well, barely got anything done on the crypto front — meant a significant expenditure of time and resources on legal and lobby efforts among the industry’s biggest players. That’s not to mention the array of settlements the SEC secured in court.

Putting all of that aside: Gensler’s approach pushed the crypto space to a war footing. 

Would Coinbase and others have devoted millions of dollars to lobbying and election-season spending were it not for Gensler’s SEC? One wonders. Maybe! 

Good or bad, Gensler’s approach spurred the US crypto industry’s evolution into a true-blue Washington special interest.

One consequence? The Democrats are out of power, and their party’s much-maligned approach to crypto is finished.

And now, on to the roundup:

— Michael McSweeney

Brought to you by:

Navigating the crypto world doesn’t have to be complicated. With Uphold, you can buy, sell, exchange, store, and even earn on your assets — all in one simple platform.
Here’s how Uphold helps:

• Trade over 300 assets* – and be the first to access new tokens.

• Enjoy seamless swaps, automatic recurring transactions for dollar-cost averaging, and advanced tools for smarter trading.

• Secure your crypto with Vault, Uphold’s “Assisted” Self-Custody solution.

Exclusive to US users: Earn up to 4.9% APY on your USD with the USD Interest Account on Uphold. Turn idle funds into passive income while you plan your next trade.

Brought to you by:

Say hello to Uniswap Wallet, the self-custody wallet that’s built for swapping. Access thousands of tokens across Ethereum and 10+ chains including Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism. And take advantage of built-in MEV protection and zero gas fees for all swaps that route through UniswapX.

Download it now on Chrome, iOS, and Android.

• There’s a $450 billion behemoth forging BTC’s path to $100k

• Unpacking Trump’s potential tariff policies

• Jito bundler breaks amid record demand

• Fed heads into December meeting with new president-elect, same economic concerns 

• Remembering FTX: How the collapse shaped crypto’s future