Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair John Reed Stark has predicted a massive uptick in cryptocurrency crime after a leadership change that is going to take place at the agency in the near future.

Stark, a vocal critic of the cryptocurrency industry, recently admitted that the agency's efforts to regulate the industry with enforcement actions were essentially over. As reported by U.Today, he expects the agency to drop all non-fraud crypto cases, including the lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase.

As reported by U.Today, several top contenders in the race to replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler have already emerged. These contenders include Paul Atkins, CEO of Patomak Global Partners, Daniel Gallagher, chief legal officer at Robinhood, Brad Bondi of Paul Hastings, Bob Stebbins, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and some other names.

According to Stark, the cryptocurrency industry is unlikely to allow Stebbins to spearhead the SEC. Notably, Stebbins, a former general counsel at the agency, signed off the Ripple lawsuit under former Chair Jay Clayton. Overall, the agency approved roughly 80 enforcement actions on Clayton's watch. "My take is that Big Crypto is extraordinarily powerful and will have a lot of influence in the SEC Chair’s selection and I can’t imagine Big Crypto allowing Bob Stebbins to get the SEC Chair nomination," he said.

While there is intense speculation regarding the next SEC Chair pick, it remains unclear when Gensler is going to resign. However, his recent remarks hinted that such an announcement could be imminent, fueling an XRP price rally.