Chief Legal Officer of Robinhood Markets Dan Gallagher, a former SEC commissioner, has withdrawn his name from consideration to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Trump administration.
Gallagher’s decision changes the search for who replaces Gary Gensler, who plans to step down on January 20, 2025. Gallagher, with regulatory expertise he’s known for, told Bloomberg through email he is putting in his resignation and couldn’t wait to work with Trump administration and a future SEC chair to spur innovation and open up retail investment opportunities.
“I am committed to Robinhood and our millions of customers who represent the new generation of retail investors.”
SEC Gallagher’s Withdrawal Fuels Uncertainty in Crypto Oversight
From 2011 to 2015, Gallagher was an SEC commissioner, and has served at firms such as WilmerHale and Mylan NV. In 2020 he joined Robinhood and with the jump in popularity of meme stocks he’s been through some high profile challenges.
Last month, rumors of Gallagher’s candidacy were fueled by rising hostility between the SEC and the crypto industry. The SEC under Gensler has also gone after crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken and Binance for enforcement actions, arguing that many digital assets should be viewed as securities.
In May, the SEC issued a Wells Notice over Robinhood’s crypto division. In August, the SEC slammed NFT marketplace OpenSea for potential securities on some NFTs. The possibility Gallagher might be appointed had brought crypto advocates hopes that Trump would steer the US toward a more crypto-friendly regulatory stance.
It’s in a broader digital asset market that Bitcoin is trading at $98,000 with optimism after Trump promised crypto friendly policies. Meanwhile, Gensler said in his farewell message the SEC was dedicated to protecting investors and maintaining market integrity. ‘The SEC is an amazing agency, one that’s deep on mission,’ he tweeted from X.
With a cryptocurrency industry watchful eye for signs of less than lenient regulatory hands from Trump, the search for the next SEC chair continues. The withdrawal of Gallagher adds uncertainty to which way U.S. financial oversight might go, as the crypto market looks to next steps.
