"Gensler Returns to MIT, Leaves Crypto Industry Reeling"

Gary Gensler, the former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has returned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a professor to teach and research AI in finance, financial tech, and regulatory policy. According to an official announcement, Gensler will also co-direct the university's FinTech AI @CSAIL initiative, a collaborative program between MIT and private sector corporations to explore AI technology.

Gensler previously taught at MIT from 2018 to 2021 before being tapped by the Biden administration to lead the SEC. As a financial regulator, he was known for his stance against the crypto community, claiming that most cryptocurrencies were unregistered securities and bringing a series of enforcement actions against the crypto industry.

Gensler's previous stint at MIT has drawn criticism, with some accusing him of hypocrisy. During his time at MIT, he taught a course called "Blockchain and Money," where he made several pro-crypto remarks, including that most cryptocurrencies are not securities. In a lecture titled "Secondary Markets and Crypto Exchanges," Gensler told his students that three-quarters of the market are not ICOs, and thus not securities, even in the US, Canada, and Taiwan. He also praised Algorand's technology, citing its ability to host complex smart contract operations.

However, under Gensler's leadership at the SEC, the agency labeled Algorand's native asset, ALGO, as an unregistered security in several cases against third parties, including its lawsuit against Binance. The crypto industry celebrated Gensler's departure as a signal that the regulatory climate in the US would improve and that a clear framework for digital assets would emerge. In anticipation of the leadership change at the SEC, industry firms submitted applications for memecoin investment funds.