Gary Gensler recently sat down with CNBC for his final interview as SEC Chairman. In the wake of his departure and the impending Bitcoin bull market, he shared his thoughts on the world’s largest digital asset. Seen as a hero for his BTC ETF approval and as a villain for pretty much everything else, the crypto community was surprised by what some might call surprisingly balanced insights about digital assets.

Bitcoin, according to Gensler, is starting to look a lot like gold – just with more drama. He sees it as something that's caught the attention of literally billions of people worldwide, comparing it to how humans have been obsessing over shiny yellow metal for the past 10,000 years. But he's quick to add that Bitcoin's got a wild streak its ancient predecessor lacks.

The regulatory picture he paints is clearer than ever: Bitcoin stands alone. While the SEC's been playing whack-a-mole with most cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin's managed to dodge the security label. That's huge. But Gensler's not letting the rest of crypto off the hook, warning that most other tokens are probably securities whether they like it or not.

His concerns about the broader crypto industry haven't changed much over his tenure. He echoed his ongoing concerns of money laundering, sanctions evasion, and securities law violations rampant in the industry. While some are corroborated more than others, all spell a regulatory nightmare for a well-meaning regulator. Gensler also wasn’t bashful in calling the whole industry "highly speculative," which tracks with his enforcement record.

Looking back at Gensler's time at the SEC, it's been a mixed bag for crypto. Sure, we got Bitcoin and Ether ETFs (finally), but we also got a whole lot of enforcement actions. He's pushed for faster settlement times and more transparency in Treasury trading, but the crypto industry's still crying out for clearer guidelines.

As he heads for the exit on January 20, Gensler's defending his enforcement-heavy approach, basically saying "don't hate the player, hate the game" – the SEC was just following Congress's playbook. But here's the real question: with Gensler out, what happens next?

The crypto world's holding its breath to see who takes his place and what that means for digital assets. 

Because while Gensler might be leaving, the questions he raised about Bitcoin's role in the financial system are here to stay.