What’s Driving Gary Gensler’s Crypto Agenda? ‘He’s Got Some of That Elizabeth Warren in Him’, Says Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban has long been a vocal critic of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, over the regulator's hostile approach to regulating the crypto industry. But only last week did the two men actually meet face to face in a CNBC green room—an experience that Cuban says was illuminating. 

“I told [Gary] this: You’re screwing the whole thing up, you’re pushing industries overseas,” Cuban said in an interview with Farokh Sarmad of Rug Radio, a sister company of Decrypt. “And honestly, I don’t think he got it.”

The billionaire entrepreneur elaborated that it seemed like Gensler genuinely did not understand why the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement” approach to digital assets has been so unpopular. It appeared instead, Cuban said, like Gensler perceived himself as someone fighting a valiant battle against a nefarious new threat. 

“I think he’s trying to be this public servant that’s saving the world,” Cuban said. “I think he’s got some of that Elizabeth Warren in him.”

Warren, the senior Democratic senator from Massachusetts, has long denounced crypto as the primary tool used by both individual criminals and America’s enemies to evade existing laws and sanctions. This hardline stance has arguably earned her the title of chief “crypto villain” in industry circles—an accolade she may well now share with Gensler. 

“She thinks that crypto facilitates that more than anything else,” Cuban said of Warren. “Because of that, crypto’s the bad guy in all this.”

The former Shark Tank star said he is currently trying to schedule a follow-up meeting with Gensler to attempt to get through to him. 

Last week, Cuban—an outspoken supporter of Kamala Harris’ presidential run—made waves by claiming that he would be open to taking over as SEC chair should Harris win in November. Cuban is currently one of the most prominent crypto advocates acting as a surrogate for the Harris campaign.

Now, however, Cuban says that the whole thing was an act. He has no intention of taking a full-time job in the federal government—but says he floated the story out there anyway.

“I always like fucking with the SEC,” the billionaire said. “I do not want to be the chairman of the SEC, [but] I wanted the conversation to happen to send a message to Gary Gensler that he’s doing it all wrong.”

Cuban even says he’s outright told the Harris camp that if they win in November, he should be interviewed for the position for optics purposes.

“I told them I don’t want to be the chair of the SEC, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing to interview me,” Cuban said. “Because it’ll send a message that the tenor of what you want going forward is not what we've got in the Biden Administration.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward