“You’re going to have the most pro-crypto president in the history of America,”  Eric Trump declared at the Bitcoin MENA conference on Dec. 10, as he discussed Donald Trump’s anticipated crypto policy.

Crypto industry leaders and advocates welcomed the potential change after a grueling four-year war with Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler.

Gensler, who resigned last month, badgered crypto companies with multiple lawsuits and controversial enforcement actions. He routinely allied with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on crypto skepticism and regulatory issues.

Crypto enthusiasts accused Gensler of launching “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” a campaign using litigation to achieve what could not be accomplished through regulation or legislation. The effort was modeled after the Obama-era Operation Chokepoint, which targeted gun dealers, payday lenders and sex workers.

“Gensler’s SEC was too quick to condemn new technology and financial products … and unwilling to offer simple guidance that would have given more clarity to consumers and investors,” said Yaël Ossowski, deputy director at the Consumer Choice Center and a fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute.

The SEC’s version of Operation Chokehold encountered legal headaches almost immediately.

A federal judge dismissed Gensler’s attempt to classify Ripple’s XRP token as a security and denied the SEC’s appeal. A separate panel of judges criticized the SEC for its capricious and inconsistent policy of denying Grayscale’s proposed Bitcoin exchange-traded program after previously approving two others.

A significant setback occurred in 2023 when a federal judge threatened to sanction SEC attorneys for “materially false and misleading representations” in a suit against Wyoming-based crypto firm Digital Licensing Inc., also known as DEBT BOX. The SEC later dropped the suit.

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