President-elect Joe Biden named Gary Gensler as his pick for chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday.
- Gensler is the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and a Wall Street veteran who has closely studied the cryptocurrency field.
- Gensler has also been a part of Biden's transition team, overseeing financial policy work.
- Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton left the role on Dec. 23. Elad Roisman was appointed acting SEC chairman by outgoing President Donald Trump for the remainder of his administration.
- Also on Monday, the Biden administration announced Rohit Chopra as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Chopra currently holds the commissioner position at the Federal Trade Commission.
- Chopra has publicly criticized libra, the Facebook-led cryptocurrency project that has since been renamed diem.