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Robinhood's top lawyer, who once worked at the SEC, could lead the regulator if President Donald Trump is re-elected next month.
Robinhood Markets Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher has been mentioned as a leading candidate for chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should former President Donald Trump win the election in November, Politico crypto-executive-who-could-soon-be-running-the-sec-00182663″ target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>reported on Monday, October 10.
Gallagher has worked at the SEC before, once as legal counsel to former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins and also as SEC Commissioner from 2011 to 2015.
Gallagher was said to have deployed efforts towards the agency's commercial and compliance divisions during his time at the regulator. These two divisions are overseeing SEC crackdowns and rule changes needed to include products like cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds.
In his current role at Robinhood, Gallagher has criticized the watchdog's approach to cryptocurrency regulation and registration. His testimony at a hearing last month added to industry rhetoric, accusing the SEC of refusing to provide clarity while the agency threatened Robinhood with possible legal action.
Conflicts between the SEC and crypto industry stakeholders have only deepened in recent years. On the one hand, the regulator claims that digital asset operators are not compliant.
crypto business leaders consistently reject the claim, arguing that existing securities rules do not complement blockchain technology.
The disagreement has become something of a rallying point for Trump's cryptocurrency-focused campaign strategy. At bitcoin (btc) 2024, the Republican candidate promised to fire current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his first day in office, if he is re-elected.
Gensler is arguably one of the fiercest opponents of cryptocurrencies and has led the Wall Street cop in an avalanche of lawsuits against digital asset entities.
A leadership change at the SEC may be coming soon, but the development was still uncertain at press time. Names like SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce have also emerged as possible options to replace Gensler, whose term technically runs through 2026.
