Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler’s return to his old MIT haunt has ignited backlash from a section of the crypto industry.

Gensler previously taught at the university before leading the SEC, where he became deeply unpopular for his strict regulatory approach.

MIT Welcomes Back Gensler, But Crypto Leaders Push Back

On January 27, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced it had rehired Gensler just over a week after leaving his old agency job. His return to an academic setting has sparked uproar from several leaders in the crypto industry who claim his tenure at the SEC was detrimental to blockchain innovation.

Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of the Gemini crypto exchange, published a strongly worded post on X, stating that while Gensler remained an employee of MIT, his company would not hire any graduates from the university:

As long as MIT has any association with Gary Gensler, Gemini will not hire any graduates from this school. Not even interns for our summer intern program.

Following the remarks, other figures echoed similar sentiments, including Eric Voorhees. The ShapeShift founder asked crypto companies not to hire MIT graduates until Gensler was removed from his position.

Every crypto company should boycott MIT grads until Gary is fired. What a way to ruin the reputation of such an illustrious institution! said Voorhees.

He insisted that since the ex-SEC chief had used regulatory power against crypto, the industry needed to respond, but with peaceful, market-based decisions. However, not everyone agreed with the boycott approach. Some argued it was unfair and counterproductive to punish students for a decision made by the university.

Others shared their concern that Winklevoss and Voorhees’ “punitive call could potentially result in the sector missing out on smart people.

Legal expert Sarah Shtylman dismissed the entire idea out of hand, calling it “absurd” and “cancel culture gone dumb.” Meanwhile, Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett was curious to know whether the former regulator’s views on crypto will change now that he has returned to academia.

A History of Boycotting

It isn’t the first time Winklevoss has called for a boycott of entities associating with former SEC personnel. Last December, after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced his company had severed ties with Milbank after the law firm hired former Commissioner Gurbir Grewal, Winklevoss declared Gemini would follow suit and stop doing business with any law firms giving work to SEC veterans.

Despite the backlash, MIT has not yet indicated whether it might reconsider its rehiring of Gensler.