Crypto Advocacy Group Ad Targets SEC’s Crenshaw Calling Her ‘More Anti-Crypto’

Crypto advocacy group Cedar Innovation Foundation has launched an ad campaign against the renomination of US SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw.

The digital ad campaign will be displayed across all Washington DC social media platforms. The CIF group accused Crenshaw of being “even worse than Gary Gensler” on crypto.

Biden appointee Crenshaw initially opposed the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETFs in January.

“She not only supports the SEC’s heavy-handed ‘regulation by enforcement,’ she even opposes Bitcoin ETFs,” the CIF posted on X. “If confirmed, Crenshaw will be on the commission until 2029, stifling innovation all through President Trump’s term.”

NEW: The Senate Banking Committee is rushing to re-confirm Caroline Crenshaw, who somehow is EVEN WORSE THAN GARY GENSLER on crypto.

She not only supports the SEC's heavy-handed "regulation by enforcement," she even opposes Bitcoin ETFs. If confirmed, Crenshaw will be on the…

— CEDAR Innovation Foundation (@CIFonX) December 9, 2024

The targeted five-figure ad calls Crenshaw “more anti-crypto than Gensler” and urges lawmakers to vote against her. The campaign comes as the Senate Banking Committee is set to vote on Crenshaw’s renomination on Wednesday.

If appointed, Crenshaw will be able to continue serving at the federal regulator through 2029.

Further, Cedar Innovation Foundation underlined in a statement that Crenshaw has criticised crypto markets as “a ‘petri dish’ of fraud.

“The message to the Senate from the crypto community is loud and clear – Keep faith with voters and vote NO on Crenshaw.”

We wanted to let you know that we are launching a targeted digital ad campaign to urge lawmakers to vote NO on Caroline Crenshaw.

Not only is this vote in defiance of the crypto-mandate voters delivered, but Crenshaw is even more extreme than Gensler—opposing BTC spot ETFs,… pic.twitter.com/o5tVN3JtFi

— CEDAR Innovation Foundation (@CIFonX) December 9, 2024

Crypto Lobbying Groups Send Letters to the Senate

Additionally, several crypto organisations and lobbying groups have sent letters to Senate lawmakers, calling for a rejection of the Commissioner.

For instance, the Blockchain Association and DeFi Education Fund sent a letter to Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown, who leads the Senate’s banking panel. In the letter, they argued that “her actions have undermined Congress’s clear mandate to establish sound regulatory policies for crypto.”

1/ Today, with @fund_defi, we sent a letter to @SenSherrodBrown and @SenatorTimScott, opposing SEC Comm'r Crenshaw's re-confirmation.

Simply put: her actions have undermined Congress's clear mandate to establish sound regulatory policies for crypto.https://t.co/tVe93GU4Yt pic.twitter.com/nesMmnUbB9

— Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn) December 9, 2024

Similarly, the DeFi Education Fund asserted that Crenshaw’s actions are “at odds with this charge.”

Further, Ji Kim, the chief legal and policy council for the Crypto Council for Innovation, also wrote against the commissioner’s renomination. In his statement, he accused Crenshaw of not having “unfortunately demonstrated the objective judgment required of agency leaders.”

As previously stated, we are concerned with the renomination of Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, who to date has demonstrated biased animosity to the digital asset space — whether it was dissenting from the SEC approving a BTC ETF, which was legally required and only helps bring… https://t.co/YOci0YPFf7

— Ji Kim (@_jikim) December 9, 2024

The opposition from industry-backed advocacy groups came after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong bashed Crenshaw, calling her a “failure as an SEC Commissioner.”

Coinbase President and COO Emilie Choi also took to X, claiming that Crenshaw remains “vehemently anti-crypto.”