Inside Gary Gensler’s SEC: A Conversation with Former Crypto Policy Advisor Corey Frayer

What was really happening inside the SEC during the Gensler years? Today, we sat down with Corey Frayer, former senior crypto policy advisor to SEC Chair Gary Gensler and now Director of Investor Protection at the Consumer Federation of America. We dig into how the agency thought about securities law, DeFi, Uniswap, stablecoins, SAB 121, and why platforms like Coinbase and Kraken ended up in the crosshairs. Corey defends the Gensler playbook while responding to the industry’s harshest criticisms, from “regulation by enforcement” to claims of a political war on crypto. Corey Frayer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-frayer-990a6b2 ------ 🎬 DEBRIEF | RYAN & DAVID UNPACKING THE EPISODE https://www.bankless.com/podcast/debrief-inside-gary-genslers-sec ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🔵COINBASE | ETH & BTC BACKED LOANS https://bankless.cc/coinbase-borrow 🪙FRAXNET | MINT, REDEEM, & EARN https://bankless.cc/fraxnet 🦄UNISWAP LABS | SWAP NOW https://bankless.cc/uniswap-labs 🛞MANTLE | GLOBAL HACKATHON 2025 https://bankless.cc/mantle-hackathon 💤EIGHT SLEEP | IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP https://bankless.cc/eight-sleep ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 4:58 Crypto Industry Misconceptions 7:59 Corey’s Role & Background 14:20 How it All Started 24:16 No Path to Register? 31:26 Technology vs Economic Activity 38:22 Protecting Investors 41:07 DeFi Regulation 44:53 Uniswap’s Wells Notice 57:00 Fake DeFi vs True DeFi 1:03:41 Google Analogy 1:08:35 The Howey Test 1:16:53 SEC: Good or Evil? 1:26:52 GENIUS Bill 1:29:10 SAB 121 1:33:01 Crypto & SEC Political Impact 1:36:02 Paul Atkin’s SEC 1:38:15 What Would Corey Change? 1:41:23 Gary’s Text Messages 1:43:10 Is ETH a Security? 1:44:39 Gary Gensler’s Radio Silence 1:47:37 Gary’s Twitter April Fools PFP 1:50:44 Closing & Disclaimers ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠