How Crypto Said Goodbye to Gary Gensler

Memes, Mockery, and Middle Fingers: How Crypto Said Goodbye to Gary Gensler

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: November 22, 2024

Key Takeaways

The crypto community bid farewell to SEC Chair Gary Gensler with sarcasm, memes, and outright mockery;
Industry leaders criticized Gensler’s policies, while others celebrated his resignation with viral moments;
Gensler's social media farewell gained massive attention, ironically becoming his most viewed post.

The departure of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler sparked an online frenzy, with the crypto community unleashing various responses.

After Gensler bid farewell to the SEC Chair by posting on X, the comment section quickly became a stage for mockery and celebration, blending humor with sharp criticism.

Gensler’s announcement of his resignation, ironically, became his most successful tweet ever. Garnering over 21,000 likes and 12 million views as of writing, the post turned into an unintended victory lap for a man often at odds with the crypto world.

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John Deaton, a crypto lawyer and former Senate candidate, summed up the community’s sentiment with a blunt emoji, tweeting:

On behalf of the entire crypto community: 🖕

Ripple Labs' Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty, representing a company with a legal victory against the SEC under Gensler’s watch, kept his response minimal yet pointed. His tweet read, “…and scene”.

Furthermore, Erik Voorhees, CEO of Shapeshift—a company that faced regulatory action from the SEC earlier this year—mocked Gensler’s self-proclaimed role as a protector of investors. He posted:

But who will protect the investors?

Jason Levin, the owner of Memelord Technologies, shared a viral moment involving a teenager who had recently made $30,000 by scamming investors with a Solana SOL $254.62 -based meme coin, QUANT. The teen’s middle-finger salute during a livestream was reposted by Levin with the caption, “WE DID IT BOYS,” as a nod to Gensler’s resignation.

Elon Musk, appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to oversee government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), couldn’t resist joining the conversation. Musk quipped at Gensler, asking:

Is it true that the SEC only works one day a month in the office?

Meanwhile, Dogecoin DOGE $0.4006 co-creator Billy Markus, better known as Shibetoshi Nakamoto, bid farewell to Gensler by sharing a GIF of NSYNC’s iconic “Bye Bye Bye” dance.

Despite the online buzz surrounding Gensler’s resignation, the crypto world continues to reel from other shocking events. One such story involves FTX co-founder Gary Wang, whose fate took an unexpected twist. How did he manage to walk away nearly unscathed? Read the full story.