The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has permanently lost nearly a year of text messages from former Chair Gary Gensler, sparking significant concern over regulatory transparency in the cryptocurrency market. This loss involves communications between October 18, 2022, and September 6, 2023, which were erased when Gensler’s device underwent factory resetting. While the SEC has acknowledged a technical failure that contributed to this data loss, its impact on ongoing investigations and market dynamics remains unclear. The potential for regulatory oversight to falter is especially concerning given the absence of these crucial communications, potentially impacting both institutional assessments of regulatory risk and enforcement action.