Praise the Lord

Future Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) expressed joy over reports from Punchbowl News that the vote to renominate SEC's Caroline Crenshaw has been postponed for the second time.

"It's common sense," Scott stated when interviewed by The Block on Tuesday at the Blockchain Association Policy Summit. "Let the Trump administration make their choices and listen to the voters most importantly."

A source with knowledge of Crenshaw's situation later confirmed this in a message to The Block. The vote was initially scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET on December 18.

> [The vote] it's deader than disco," the insider commented.

Scott emphasized the importance of prioritizing innovation over regulation. "What we saw from the SEC, including SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Crenshaw, was exactly the opposite," he said.

The Senate Banking Committee, under Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who has been critical of cryptocurrencies, conducted a hearing last week intended to vote on the nominations of Crenshaw and Gordon Ito to the Financial Stability Oversight Council. However, this effort failed after Brown cited Republican objections to convening for a vote.

A Senate Banking Committee aide mentioned they ran out of time in an emailed statement.

"Though we had the support on Committee to advance the nominations, we ran out of time on the floor – partly due to the Republicans blocking the Committee from meeting last week," the aide explained. "Because of limited time, we did not see a path forward to confirm these nominees this Congress."

Some individuals in the cryptocurrency sector have called for Crenshaw's dismissal, pointing to her dissent regarding the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products earlier this year. In her statement, Crenshaw cautioned against fraud, manipulation, and the risk of investors being misled about their protections.

Without Crenshaw's renomination, the SEC may soon be led solely by Republicans. Crenshaw was the only Democrat on the commission. Bloomberg Law reported last month that fellow Democratic Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga plans to leave the agency in January to spend more time with his family, as his wife is battling breast cancer. Earlier, Democratic Chair Gensler indicated he would resign on the day of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

This would leave three Republican commissioners — Mark Uyeda, Hester Peirce, and newly appointed Chair Paul Atkins — to lead the SEC, following Trump's nomination of Atkins to chair earlier this month.