President-elect Donald Trump announced that Paul Atkins will replace Gary Gensler as SEC chairman. President Trump said Atkins recognizes the importance of digital assets to “making America greater than ever.” Most cryptocurrency leaders believe that Atkins will contribute to the regulatory prosperity of the cryptocurrency industry.
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed his nomination of Paul Atkins, CEO of Patomac Global Partners, to be the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
President Trump elects Paul Atkins as SEC Commissioner, gaining support from crypto industry
President Trump announced in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday that Paul Atkins will lead the SEC under the next presidential administration.
Mr. Atkins served as an SEC commissioner under former President George W. Bush and has shown support for the digital asset industry by serving as co-chair of the industry group Digital Chamber of Commerce's Token Alliance since 2017.
FXStreet previously reported that Atkins was considered a top candidate to lead the agency under President Donald Trump, but was reluctant to accept the role due to the effort required to rebuild the agency. It is said that
News of Atkins' appointment was heralded as a positive development for the crypto market, as many believe Atkins will introduce aggressive regulation of the crypto industry in line with Trump's campaign promises.
“Paul has a proven track record as a common-sense regulatory leader. He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that respond to investor needs and provide the capital to make our economy the best in the world. “We are,” President Trump wrote. Post on his social media platform Truth Social. “He also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are essential to making America greater than ever.”
Paul Atkins has spoken out in support of the crypto industry on several occasions, previously stating that cryptocurrencies can foster innovation and should not be treated as traditional securities.
Outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler announced last month that he would resign from his position at the SEC on January 20th.
The digital asset industry has suffered from heavy regulation during the Gensler administration, and several cryptocurrency companies, including Binance, Ripple, Kraken, and Coinbase, are facing lawsuits from the SEC.
However, many major crypto opinion leaders believe that if Atkins takes the helm of the agency, he will help the industry thrive on the regulatory front.
Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a Dec. 4 X post that Atkins “will bring common sense back to society.” [SEC]“The time has come to quickly and decisively end the era of crypto bans,” he added.
Jake Cherbinski, Chief Legal Officer at Valiant Funds, also shares his thoughts on Social Media X:
It's impossible to express in words the amount of change we'll see in the SEC run by Paul Atkins.
Cryptocurrencies have literally never existed without too much uncertainty and hostility from US regulators.
This moment is a regulatory singularity before ushering in a new era of cryptocurrencies
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) December 4, 2024
The cryptocurrency market rebounded on the news, with Bitcoin trading above $98,000.
