Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas shared reports of Trump considering crypto lawyer Teresa Goody Guillen, a partner at Baker & Hostetler, to take the agency's top spot. Guillen's background as a former SEC attorney and her current role in representing blockchain firms makes her a strong candidate.
Guillen joins a growing shortlist of potential candidates, including Brad Bondi, Brian Brooks, Dan Gallagher (Robinhood Chief Legal Officer), Bob Stebbins (Willkie Farr partner, and Paul Atkins (former SEC Commissioner).
Deaton's Take on SEC Chair Candidates
Amicus curiae attorney and CryptoLaw US founder John E. Deaton discussed potential candidates on CryptoLaw, dismissing Bob Stebbins as a suitable choice. Deaton elaborated:
"To remind people who Bob Stebbins is. He was in the Office of General Counsel for the SEC under Chairman Jay Clayton. So, people need to know about the SEC and the Office of General Counsel, is that they have to sign off on all of these enforcement actions. And he signed off on more than 80 crypto enforcement actions. We're talking about the Ripple case. [...] He was part of the crypto regulation by enforcement agenda."
Deaton's top picks were Brad Bondi and Brian Brooks. He highlighted Bondi's unique stance on investor protection and DeFi, adding,
'The only one that I could find that made any public statement affirmatively on DeFi and self-custody was Brad Bondi. And you know what he said. He said that self-custody in America, if our founders could have foreseen it, it would have been in the Bill of Rights. [...] He also went further and said that absolutely 100%, when you take a DeFi protocol and you couple it self-custody, the SEC's got no business being involved. There is no implications of securities laws. That is what we need."
Impact of SEC Leadership on Ripple Litigation
Trump's SEC Chair pick could influence the agency's decision to appeal the Ripple case rulings. Significantly, John Reed Stark commented on Brad Bondi's potential stance on litigation against crypto firms, stating,