The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s top lawyer, General Counsel Megan Barbero, will resign next week, joining the exodus of top agency officials who had been responsible for the SEC’s legal battles with the crypto industry in recent years.
“His measured advice and judgment were essential to the Commission’s decision-making,” Chairman Gary Gensler said in a statement regarding Barbero’s departure, scheduled for January 20. That’s the day Gensler, the author of the SEC’s crypto position, is also leaving, just as President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in for a second term.
Barbero was the agency’s top lawyer, responsible for how its legal department conducted its litigation with crypto companies in federal courts and advising on its enforcement posture. She has been general counsel since February 2023.
The SEC’s enforcement chief, Gurbir Grewal, left the SEC in October, and the accounting executive who was behind the agency’s controversial crypto accounting policy, Paul Munter, also announced his imminent departure this week.
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