This pro-crypto billionaire wants to become the new head of the SEC

In a recent interview on Fox News, American entrepreneur and billionaire Mark Cuban expressed his interest in taking over the position of Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Cuban, who has attracted attention in the past for his openness towards cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin in particular, has thus put himself forward as a potential successor to current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.

Can I ask you another question, Mark, would you rather be Treasury Secretary or Commerce Secretary in a Harris administration?
_{Neil Cavuto, Fox News host}

Chairman of the SEC, that's the job I'd take. Maybe HHS [Department of Health and Human Services, ed.] too, but somebody has to replace Gary Gensler. [...] He's terrible, especially for the crypto sector, but also for businesses in general.
_{Mark Cuban, billionaire}

The SEC has been at the center of debates about the regulation of Bitcoin & Co. for quite some time. Gary Gensler, the current chairman, has been repeatedly criticized, both from the crypto sector and from political actors, as his regulatory stance is usually seen as strict and not very innovation-friendly. In the "hard" Bitcoin community, however, Gensler still has some fans, as he - unlike many others - at least makes a distinction between Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies and makes it more difficult for many scammers in the crypto sector with his regulatory policy. Nevertheless, the growing dissatisfaction with Gensler's regulatory policy has intensified discussions about a possible replacement in the course of the upcoming US elections. Not least because presidential candidate Donald Trump promised to fire Gary Gensler immediately during his speech at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville - even if this is unlikely to be possible without further ado.

Whether a "crypto friend" like Mark Cuban would actually be a better choice than Gary Gensler remains questionable. Although many criticize the current SEC chairman's hard line, Gensler does, after all, bring extensive expertise and experience to the table. He has not only dealt intensively with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as SEC Chairman, but also previously as a professor at MIT. His expertise enables him to make a differentiated assessment of the risks and opportunities of the crypto sector. And his repeated assessment that the crypto market is "full of crooks and crooks" is also difficult to deny.

In contrast, Cuban, despite his recent involvement and investment in the crypto world, does not yet seem to have the same deep understanding of the matter. An overly "open" approach could also be potentially problematic from an SEC and consumer perspective, as it risks opening the door to scammers, "snake oil salesmen" and questionable practices. Particularly in such a young and unregulated market, the authority's stated aim should be to protect investors. Ultimately, this would also strengthen confidence in Bitcoin. The question of whether a "crypto-friend" at the head of the SEC is really a better alternative to Gensler therefore remains highly controversial and, should it really come to that, it could ultimately prove to be a change "from the frying pan into the fire".

So far, there do not appear to be any serious plans to actually appoint Cuban as Gensler's replacement. The billionaire has brought himself into the game through Cavuto's demand, but whether someone who is invested in the industry himself could or should actually do the job is questionable. After all, this would create enormous conflicts of interest and call into question the credibility of the SEC. Therefore, the idea that the billionaire will soon become head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission seems to be just a brief pipe dream of his own.