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Gary Gensler Rejoins MIT Sparking Crypto Community Backlash

Gary Gensler, the former chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has rejoined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) after leaving his regulatory post. A statement released on Jan. 27 confirmed that Gensler will join the faculty at MIT’s Sloan School of Management as a Professor of the Practice in the Global Economics and Management Group and the Finance Group. His work will focus on artificial intelligence, finance, financial technology, and public policy.

Gensler will also become co-director at FinTechAI@CSAIL, an initiative within MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He will lead alongside Professor Andrew W. Lo. This program brings together industry players and MIT researchers to drive AI innovation in finance. Participants will collaborate on emerging technologies, address technical hurdles, and explore real-world applications for artificial intelligence in the sector

Gensler’s return to academia follows his controversial tenure at the SEC, where he pursued an aggressive enforcement agenda against major crypto firms, including Coinbase and Binance. Critics within the crypto space accused him of stifling innovation through regulatory crackdowns. Before leading the SEC, he held a faculty position at MIT Sloan and was previously chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where he played a key role in reforming the massive $400 trillion swaps market.

He officially stepped down from the SEC on Jan. 20, ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th US president. Gensler’s return to academia has sparked controversy, particularly among crypto advocates and some MIT alumni. Devin Walsh, an Executive Director of the Uniswap Foundation, voiced disappointment over MIT’s decision to rehire him. Walsh, an MIT Sloan graduate, argued that his return sends the wrong message to students interested in blockchain and emerging technologies.

Walsh wrote: “A waste of time, tuition funds, and energy for any student hoping to study and support new and innovative technologies.” Meanwhile, pro-crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro highlighted Gensler’s unpopularity within the industry. He suggested that students, particularly those from crypto or retail trading communities, might expose controversial moments from his lectures on social media.

Terron Gold