Gary Gensler, a critic of the cyrpto industry, will leave the US financial regulator on 20 January

Cryptocurrencies have risen sharply after one of the industry’s biggest critics, Gary Gensler, said he would stand down as the head of the US financial regulator when president-elect Donald Trump was inaugurated in January.

In a post on X, Gensler confirmed he would resign from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 20 January.