Trump hints at bypassing conventional procedures to appoint a new SEC chair, significant changes in encryption regulation may be on the horizon.

U.S. presidential candidate Trump recently made remarks on social media, suggesting that he might bypass the Senate's normal appointment procedures and directly appoint government officials, which seems to include replacing the current chair of the SEC. Trump stated that as a potential next president, he has the authority to decide who will serve as the Senate majority leader when the new Congress is sworn in on January 2025. He hopes that the future majority leader will agree to make appointments during the congressional recess to avoid the normal confirmation process, allowing newly appointed officials to take office quickly without having to go through the questioning and review by lawmakers.

The U.S. Constitution gives the president the power to fill vacancies when the Senate is not in session, by granting temporary warrants that expire at the end of the next congressional session. During his first term, Mr. Trump used that power to appoint people who might have struggled to gain Senate approval. However, it is important to note that such adjournment appointments are temporary in nature and do not completely replace the formal ratification process in the Senate. At the moment, Trump has not publicly nominated anyone to replace the current SEC chairman.

During his campaign, Trump promised the cryptocurrency industry that if he were elected again, he would remove the current SEC chairman on his first day in office. However, legal experts pointed out that without just cause, the president cannot directly remove the SEC chairman from the commission. Typically, when there is a change in the party of the White House, some heads of regulatory agencies choose to resign voluntarily, but the current SEC chairman has not indicated any intention to leave.

This potential personnel change has sparked speculation in the market about possible changes to U.S. financial regulatory policy, especially regarding cryptocurrency regulation. However, the specific direction of the policy still needs to await further official statements and actual actions for verification.