Trump appoints crypto-friendly Mark Uyeda as acting SEC chairman

PANews reported on January 21 that according to The Block, US President Trump has appointed Mark Uyeda, a senior official of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to lead the agency until the permanent chairman is confirmed. Mark Uyeda has been critical of the SEC’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation under former Chairman Gary Gensler, calling its enforcement “ill-conceived cryptocurrency policy” and calling for more clarity on cryptocurrency regulation. Uyeda and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, also a Republican, said in a speech last March: “The environment we have created for the crypto asset market, especially as it relates to secondary trading, is unsustainable.”

With Gensler out of office and a Republican majority in the SEC, the SEC will undergo a regulatory shift in cryptocurrency. Reuters reported last week that Peirce and Gensler are weighing whether to launch a process to clarify how the SEC views cryptocurrencies and could decide to review pending enforcement cases, which could begin soon. Uyeda previously served as securities counsel to former Republican Sen. Pat Toomey on the Senate Banking Committee and also served as counsel to former SEC Commissioners Michael Piwowar and Paul Atkins. Atkins, who is friendly to cryptocurrencies, was also officially announced to lead the SEC until June 5, 2026. Trump appointed Atkins in December. Atkins still needs to be confirmed by the Senate.

Trump also named Travis Hill to serve as acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), according to Monday's announcement. Hill, the agency’s vice chairman, said earlier this month that the FDIC should provide more clarity on how banks work with cryptocurrencies after the government was criticized for ostracizing the industry.