The story refers to a new New York Times opinion essay by former SEC official John Reed Stark that is sharply critical of the current state of U.S. crypto policy under President Donald Trump and frames the administration as dangerously aligned with the crypto industry. Stark, who ran the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement and has long been a prominent crypto skeptic, argues that the Trump administration has effectively dismantled the SEC’s crypto enforcement program and is allowing the president’s family and allies to profit from regulatory decisions tied to digital assets. In the op-ed and related media appearances, Stark describes the post‑election U.S. crypto landscape as a form of “post‑apocalyptic anarchy,” asserting that SEC crypto investigations have been closed, litigation paused or dismissed, and appeals withdrawn, with the agency treating crypto buyers more like collectors of “Beanie Babies” or “Pokémon cards” than investors in securities. He links this shift to what he calls a “crypto presidency,” warning that the blurring of lines between public policy and private profiteering in crypto represents an unprecedented ethics and investor‑protection risk. The piece matters because it crystallizes mainstream institutional criticism of the new, more permissive U.S. crypto posture and is being highlighted in the Web3 community as a high‑profile, anti‑crypto attack from a former enforcement insider now using a marquee media platform to argue for tougher scrutiny of both the industry and the current administration’s ties to it.

AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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