The Daily: Gary Gensler to leave SEC on Jan. 20, regulator now 'engaging' on spot Solana ETFs and more

Quick Take

  • SEC Chair Gary Gensler will step down on Jan. 20, 2025, coinciding with the start of President-elect Donald Trump’s term, according to a statement released by the agency on Thursday.
  • The SEC is now “engaging” with applicants on spot Solana ETFs, Fox News reporter Eleanor Terrett first reported, citing two people familiar with the matter, and confirmed by The Block with a source at one issuer.
  • U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs surpassed $100 billion in combined assets under management on Wednesday — representing around 5% of bitcoin’s total market cap — driven by the cryptocurrency’s ongoing price rally.
  • The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Thursday! In today's Daily, SEC Chair Gary Gensler is stepping down, the regulator is suddenly engaging with U.S. spot Solana ETF applicants, spot Bitcoin ETFs top $100 billion in AUM and more.

Meanwhile, bitcoin heads toward $100,000 as the post-election momentum continues.

Let's get started.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler to step down as Trump signals pro-crypto agenda

SEC Chair Gary Gensler will step down on Jan. 20, 2025, coinciding with the start of President-elect Donald Trump's term, according to a statement released by the agency on Thursday.

  • Gensler said it was an "honor of a lifetime" to work with his fellow SEC staff.
  • "I thank President Biden for entrusting me with this incredible responsibility. The SEC has met our mission and enforced the law without fear or favor," Gensler wrote in the statement. "I also thank Congress, my colleagues across the U.S. government and fellow regulators around the world."
  • During his tenure, which began in April 2021, Gensler pushed for central clearing in Treasury markets, reformed executive pay disclosures and increased oversight of the crypto industry.
  • Gensler had become a designated villain in the space following enforcement actions against big players, including Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.
  • The SEC reported that 18% of its tips, complaints and referrals in the last fiscal year were crypto-related, despite the sector representing less than 1% of U.S. capital markets.
  • Gensler has persistently maintained that most cryptocurrencies qualify as securities, urging firms to register with the SEC, though many in the industry argue the process is unworkable.
  • Gensler's departure follows pro-crypto Trump's campaign promise to fire him if elected, signaling a potential shift toward a more friendly regulatory stance.

SEC now 'engaging' on US spot Solana ETFs

The SEC is now "engaging" with applicants on spot Solana ETFs, Fox News reporter Eleanor Terrett first reported, citing two people familiar with the matter, and confirmed by The Block with a source at one issuer.

  • VanEck, 21Shares and Canary Capital have all filed S-1 forms for spot Solana ETFs, with Bitwise also signaling intent via a new Delaware entity registration on Wednesday.
  • President-elect Donald Trump's incoming pro-crypto White House administration is fueling renewed hope for Solana ETFs, with the SEC's newfound engagement raising optimism for potential approval in 2025.
  • "There’s a 'good chance' we’ll see some 19b-4 filings from exchanges on behalf of prospective issuers — the next step in the ETF approval process — in the coming days," the sources told Terrett.
  • Once the SEC formally acknowledges receipt of 19b-4 forms, a 240-day window is triggered for the agency to approve or deny the funds.
  • The SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs to begin trading in January this year, followed by eight spot Ethereum ETFs in July.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs top $100 billion in AUM

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs surpassed $100 billion in combined assets under management on Wednesday — representing around 5% of bitcoin's total market cap — driven by the cryptocurrency's ongoing price rally.

  • BlackRock's IBIT and Grayscale’s GBTC lead the market, holding $45.4 billion and $20.6 billion in net assets, respectively.
  • The spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a further $796 million in net inflows on Wednesday, with cumulative net inflows since the funds began trading now standing at $29.5 billion.
  • Meanwhile, the U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs witnessed $33.5 million in net outflows on Wednesday, extending their negative flow streak to five days.

Sui Network back up after facing 'major outage' for nearly two hours

Sui Network, a Layer 1 blockchain developed by Mysten Labs, failed to produce new blocks on its mainnet for nearly two hours on Wednesday, leaving the blockchain effectively stalled before a patch could be deployed.

  • "The two-hour downtime was caused by a bug in transaction scheduling logic that caused validators to crash, which has now been resolved," Sui Network confirmed on X.
  • The price of the SUI token was not meaningfully impacted by the incident, with the top 20 cryptocurrency currently trading for $3.64, according to The Block's Sui Price Page.
  • This marks the first validator issue on the Sui mainnet since it launched in May 2023, though prior outages have occurred with RPC nodes and testnet validators.

Justin Sun enters the banana zone with $6.2 million purchase of 'Comedian' artwork

Tron founder Justin Sun purchased Maurizio Cattelan's famous artwork "Comedian," featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall, for $6.24 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on Wednesday night.

  • As a work of conceptual art, it consists of a certificate of authenticity with detailed instructions for its proper display that allows for the banana and duct tape to be replaced as needed.
  • "In the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honoring its place in both art history and popular culture," Sun said.
  • Following the purchase, the largest unaffiliated Comedian-themed memecoin dropped 37%, while another Comedian token based on the artwork collapsed entirely.

In the next 24 hours

  • ECB President Christine Lagarde will speak at 3:30 a.m. ET on Friday. U.S. FOMC member Michelle Bowman follows at 6:15 p.m.

Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.


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© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

James Hunt is a reporter at The Block and writer of The Daily newsletter, keeping you up to speed on the latest crypto news every weekday. Prior to joining The Block in 2022, James spent four years as a freelance writer in the industry, contributing to both publications and crypto project content. James’ coverage spans everything from Bitcoin and Ethereum to Layer 2 scaling solutions, avant-garde DeFi protocols, evolving DAO governance structures, trending NFTs and memecoins, regulatory landscapes, crypto company deals and the latest market updates. You can get in touch with James on Telegram or 𝕏 via @humanjets or email him at [email protected].