SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal resigns

Gurbir Grewal has resigned from the SEC after three years at the regulator and over 100 crypto-related enforcement actions.

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission statement, Gurbir Grewal, the agency’s director of enforcement, will retire from the federal regulator on Oct. 11.

Grewal led the watchdog to more than $20 billion in civil penalties and over 2,400 litigations. At least 100 of those cases involved suing crypto businesses, digital asset operators, and virtual currency purveyors for allegedly breaking federal securities laws.

Recently, Grewal led the regulator’s enforcement division to settlements with eToro, Galois Capital, and Mango Markets. While most of the crypto lawsuits were filed last year, 2024 saw the biggest crypto-SEC settlement under Grewal. The SEC agreed on a $4.68 billion deal with troubled blockchain firm Terraform Labs.

Grewal also oversaw enforcement actions against Binance and Coinbase, two of the biggest crypto exchanges globally and in America. The SEC commended Grewal for his work in these matters.

Under Mr. Grewal’s leadership, the Division recommended and the Commission authorized more than 100 enforcement actions addressing widespread noncompliance in the quickly growing crypto space, including against the operators of the largest crypto asset trading platforms in the world and the operator of the largest crypto asset trading platform in the United States for depriving investors of crucial investor protections by not complying with the registration provisions of the federal securities laws.

SEC on Gurbir Grewal’s departure

Grewal’s deputy, Sanjay Wadhwa, was announced as his interim successor and acting director of the SEC’s enforcement department.

The news elicited celebrations from crypto community leaders. Indeed, some in the digital asset ecosystem may regard Grewal and SEC chair Gary Gensler as two of the industry’s greatest opponents. Gensler and Grewal have often likened the crypto complex to the Wild West. Crypto proponents have countered that the SEC regulates with confusion rather than clarity and good faith.