President Donald Trump named Mark Uyeda, a Republican member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), acting chair of the agency.

What Happened: The White House confirmed Uyedas’s role as acting chair of the agency.

Trump picked former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to oversee the SEC permanently, but Congress must approve the nomination.

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Uyeda temporarily takes over duties from Gary Gensler, former President Joe Biden‘s SEC chair, who prosecuted cryptocurrency-related companies like Coinbase and Ripple throughout his tenure.

Gensler also advocated for more cryptocurrency regulation ahead of his departure from the SEC.

Uyeda’s legal career began at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, which is now K&L Gates.

In 2004, then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Uyeda as Chief Advisor to the California Corporations Commissioner, the state’s securities regulator.

By 2006, he joined the SEC and was eventually named commissioner on June 30, 2022.

He also served as counsel to commissioner Atkins.

Why It Matters: A Trump appointment to the SEC will likely influence the agency’s policies regarding cryptocurrency regulation, Reuters reports.

Trump’s business dealings are heavily tied to cryptocurrency. On Friday, he debuted his own meme coin called Official Trump (CRYPTO: TRUMP) and, before that, his family helped launch World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized finance platform.

According to the New York Times, citing 2024 financial disclosures, Trump owns up to $5 million worth of Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). The new SEC is expected to loosen regulations on crypto and implement new guidelines that could bolster the value of Ethereum, Bitcoin (CRYPTP: BTC) and tokens at WLFI.

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