Commissioner Mark Uyeda says SEC's crypto approach has been a 'disaster'

When asked what the SEC could or should do differently, Uyeda said the "need to lay out some clear guidance and interpretations on what exactly falls within and falls outside of the securities laws."

"You can't even start to have a discussion unless you know what's in and what's out," he said Wednesday. "And then from there, to the extent they are within our realm, we need to think about, alright, how does the broker handle these securities?"

Coincidentally, on Wednesday, law students grilled Gensler and a former Democratic commissioner over his views on regulating crypto during a fireside chat at the New York University Law Institute for Corporate Governance and Finance.

The SEC's  leadership is made up of five presidentially appointed commissioners based on advice and consent from the Senate. There can't be more than three commissioners from the same political party.

During the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July, former President Donald Trump said he would fire Gensler , which drew rabid applause from the audience. Robinhood Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher is a contender to be SEC chair if Trump wins November's election, according to Politico .

"The new chairman coming in would be able to take a fresh look at every rule, including ones that affect the crypto industry and the ones that are out in the comment period," former Republican SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar told The Block last month, "and decide whether or not to move forward with certain rulemaking, but would need commissioners' votes."