- Gensler will focus on AI, financial technology, and finance.
- The announcement comes one week after he stepped down as SEC chair.
- Gensler is touted to be one of crypto’s staunchest adversaries in Washington D.C.
One of crypto’s top adversaries is returning to academia.
Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler will return to MIT after a controversial four-year stint at the helm of the regulator.
His teaching and research will focus on artificial intelligence, finance, financial technology, and public policy, according to a press release from the prestigious university.
“I’m thrilled to once again collaborate with MIT’s distinguished team of scholars creating a better future for all through artificial intelligence, finance, and technology,” said Gensler in a statement.
The news comes one week after he left the markets watchdog the same day that Donald Trump was inaugurated. Before stepping down, he had become crypto’s l’ennemi commun after spearheading the agency’s crackdown on the industry.
At MIT, Gensler will serve as co-director of the FinTechAI initiative, exploring the intersection of AI and finance.
His new focus on AI comes at a crucial time for the US tech industry. Earlier this week, the market went into freefall after a Chinese artificial intelligence startup dubbed DeepSeek surfaced. The startup brandished an AI assistant that operates at a discount to US-based AI leader OpenAI and its ChatGPT product.
The slump — which wiped out more than $1 trillion from the broader stock market — was also exacerbated by derisking from investors in anticipation of Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting by the Federal Reserve.
Gensler was co-director of MIT’s FinTech@CSAIL, and senior advisor to the MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative immediately before he joined the SEC.
Anti-crypto stance
Under Gensler, the SEC pursued a number of lawsuits against top companies like Coinbase, Binance, and Ripple, while also tagging a number of tokens as unregistered securities.
His tough approach wasn’t limited to crypto.
While leading the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2009 to 2014, he was also known as an industry hard-hitter — annoying Wall Street and implementing new swap rules in the aftermath of the global financial crash of 2008.
“Those who have known Gensler throughout his regulatory career know he has an imperious attitude that tends to rub industry and fellow policymakers the wrong way,” Sean Tuffy, a regulation and market structure expert, previously told DL News.
“He’s not a warm and fuzzy guy,” Tuffy said.
Pedro Solimano is a markets correspondent based in Buenos Aires. Got a tip? Email him at psolimano@dlnews.com.