SEC moves top crypto litigator involved in Ripple, Coinbase cases to IT department
Quick Take
- The SEC reassigned crypto litigator Jorge Tenreiro to its computer systems management department, reports the Wall Street Journal.
- Tenreiro has worked at the SEC for over 11 years, first joining as an enforcement lawyer before serving as the agency’s deputy chief of crypto assets and cyber unit from October 2022 to November 2024.
- Tenreiro’s reassignment follows the SEC’s crypto enforcement unit downsizing, a part of the agency’s softening stance toward the industry since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.
The Securities and Exchange Commission transferred Jorge Tenreiro, the agency's former deputy chief of crypto assets and cyber unit, to its computer systems management department, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Tenreiro has worked at the SEC for over 11 years, first joining as an enforcement lawyer before serving as the helping to lead the agency's crypto enforcement division from October 2022 to November 2024, according to his LinkedIn. Tenreiro participated in numerous high-profile SEC enforcement cases against crypto firms, such as Ripple and Coinbase.
The reassignment follows reports of the SEC downsizing its crypto enforcement unit as it pivots toward a less adversarial stance toward the crypto industry since President Donald Trump took office in 2025.
After the departure of Gary Gensler, former SEC chair and outspoken crypto critic, Trump appointed the crypto-friendly Republican SEC commissioner Mark Uyeda as the agency's acting chair on Jan. 20. The next day, Uyeda announced that the SEC will launch a crypto task force led by Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce to classify which crypto assets are securities and create clearer guidelines for companies registering new products.
On Jan. 23, the SEC retracted SAB 121, the accounting guidance mandating crypto custodial firms record their clients' crypto funds as liabilities on balance sheets.
The Block reached out to the SEC for comment.
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