Meet the Robinhood exec tipped to be Trump’s top SEC pick: ‘I’d go in with a pretty lengthy list’

In July, Donald Trump promised crypto fans he would fire Gary Gensler on “day one” should he win the presidency.

After Trump’s decisive victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris on Tuesday, he’s going to need to find someone to replace the anti-crypto SEC Chair.

While Gensler’s term ends in 2026, he has indicated he will step down when the new Republican administration comes in.

One name that repeatedly comes up in discussions to replace Gensler is Dan Gallagher, former SEC commissioner and legal chief of investing app Robinhood.

In early October, a dozen former top regulators, lobbyists and securities lawyers first told Politico that Gallagher was a favourite for the job.

On Thursday, sources who spoke to Reuters said Gallagher was a front-runner among those that the Trump transition team is considering.

Here’s how Gallagher could regulate crypto.

Beer and pizza

Gallagher has frequently criticised the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement” approach to crypto.

Millions of Americans who wanted to participate in crypto have had to “contend with innovation-killing federal regulatory uncertainty,” he said at a September hearing.

Instead, Gallagher said on a July Bloomberg Intelligence podcast, he would create a rulebook tailored for crypto based on existing securities laws.

“If they had done it in 2021 they might have caught FTX before it blew up on everyone,” he said. “I could do it over the weekend with a six-pack of beer and a pizza.”

He also indicated he would drop many of the SEC’s ongoing lawsuits.

“I’d go in with a pretty lengthy list of things that need to be undone and undo them,” he said in the Bloomberg Intelligence podcast. “I’d give serious thought to walking away from a lot of bad litigation.”

Gallagher didn’t specify what litigation, but there’s no shortage of potential cases. The SEC has filed around 100 lawsuits against crypto firms since 2021.

The regulator is also weighing a lawsuit against Gallagher’s own firm, Robinhood, over its crypto trading platform.

If Gallagher accepted the role as head of the SEC, therefore, it might raise questions about a potential conflict of interest with his former employer.

Who is Dan Gallagher?

Gallagher is no stranger to the inner workings of the SEC.

He started his career at the regulator where he was a summer honours programme intern while pursuing his law degree.

After graduating and working as a law firm associate in the private sector, he rejoined the SEC in 2006, rising the ranks to become a Commissioner in 2011. He returned to the private sector in 2016, joining financial services consultancy Patomak Global Partners.

After brief stints at pharmaceuticals company Mylan and law firm WilmerHale, he joined Robinhood in 2020.

In 2023, he appeared at Coindesk’s Consensus conference alongside Bain Capital Crypto’s Tuongvy Le and TRM Labs’ Ari Redbord.

More recently, he’s riffed with Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal on X.

Other candidates

While Gallagher may be the favourite, he’s by no means the only contender.

SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda wants to lead the SEC and has “decent odds” of doing so, crypto attorney Jake Chervinsky said on X on Wednesday.

Politico has also pegged former head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chris Giancarlo as a potential candidate.

Former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, stablecoin issuer Circle’s Chief Legal Officer Heath Tarbert, and former SEC general counsel Robert Stebbins are also in the running.

Tim Craig is DL News’ Edinburgh-based DeFi Correspondent. Reach out with tips at tim@dlnews.com.