Gary Gensler, the former chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), might be out of office, but he is still being called out. The latest comes from Bitwise President Teddy Fusaro, who has criticized Gensler for mixing up U.S. crypto regulation.
Bitwise president challenges Gensler’s “merit regulator” stance
Fusaro’s response came as a reaction to an interview by Gensler with CNBC. The former SEC chair attempted to justify his crypto policies while in office by claiming the assets lacked intrinsic value. He suggested that this influenced his decisions while heading the regulatory body and, as such, he had no regrets.
In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission is a disclosure regulator — not a merit regulator.
Some foreign jurisdictions (e.g., Chinese CSRC) have sec. regulators that are merit regulators.
The US does not.
What fmr Chair Gensler discusses here is merit regulation. https://t.co/hGmdrEnelk
— Teddy Fusaro (@teddyfuse) September 19, 2025
However, Fusaro has flayed the former SEC chair for adopting a “merit regulator” stance. According to the Bitwise president, Gensler was speaking as if the SEC should judge the merits of investments. That would imply acting as a merit regulator.
“In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission is a disclosure regulator – not a merit regulator. Some foreign jurisdictions (e.g., Chinese CSRC) have sec. regulators that are merit regulators,” he stated.
Notably, in the U.S., the SEC does not decide if an investment is “good” or “bad.” Its core function is to make sure that companies provide potential investors with the necessary accurate information. Once that disclosure is done, investors can use it to make informed decisions on the risks involved and, if they desire, commit funds.
Fusaro maintains that Gensler, while in office, slowed the progress of the crypto industry by acting like a merit regulator rather than a disclosure regulator. He argued that it was not Gensler’s role to decide which investments in the crypto sector were “worthy”; that judgment was for investors.
New SEC leadership signals crypto-friendly shift
Interestingly, Paul Atkins, the current SEC chair and Gensler’s successor, has followed a different path. In a recent comment at the inaugural OECD Roundtable on Global Financial Markets, it was signaled that “crypto’s time has come.”
In his address to the gathering, Atkins restated the regulatory agency’s goal to provide regulatory certainty for the crypto industry to thrive.
Since he assumed office, there has been a shift in the SEC’s approach to crypto projects. Some lawsuits instituted during Gary Gensler’s administration have been dismissed. These include those tied to Coinbase, Binance and Ripple, regarding the status of XRP.
It is clear with these developments that the U.S. regulator under the new leadership is crypto-friendly, unlike under Gensler.