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When Gary Gensler left the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2025, Bitcoin was trending higher and many expected a more favorable regulatory backdrop to support further upside. Instead, BTC has fallen sharply to levels that complicate the once-popular narrative that regulation—or Gensler specifically—was the primary force holding the market back.
Analyst Benjamin Cowen said on X that when Gary Gensler stepped down from the SEC in January 2025, Bitcoin was trading around $109,000. Cowen noted that today it is closer to $75,000.
Cowen argued that one major reason crypto markets have suffered is that market participants began to lose faith in the industry itself. He said that after Gensler left, it “opened the floodgates” to what he described as a “grift age” in crypto.
He pointed to a period in which influencers and politicians launched memecoins and carried out rug-pulls “every day,” which he said occurred without fear of repercussions. Cowen linked this to a massive misallocation of capital, with liquidity flowing into speculative assets rather than strengthening the broader ecosystem.
In Cowen’s view, while some celebrated Gensler’s exit, it marked a turning point for the industry. He said BTC rose only marginally before entering a bear market. Cowen also suggested that history could repeat itself in connection with Jerome Powell’s removal as chair of the Federal Reserve, arguing that short-term celebrations can later translate into credibility problems for institutions.
Bitcoin has also shown a recurring pattern around Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings, and it has not been bullish in the short term. A crypto trader known as Max Trades highlighted that after each of the last seven FOMC meetings, BTC dropped sharply following the decision.
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