next president donald trump announced Wednesday that it intends to nominate crypto advocate Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.
President Trump said Atkins, CEO of Patmac Partners and former SEC commissioner, is a “proven leader of common sense regulation.” Since leaving the SEC, Atkins has advocated against excessive market regulation.
“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 also recognize that it is essential to making America greater than ever,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments, and is currently chaired by Gary Gensler, who has led the U.S. government's crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry. Mr. Gensler was nominated by President Joe Biden. announced Last month, it was announced that he would resign on President Trump's inauguration day (January 20, 2025).
Trump, a former crypto skeptic, has promised to make the United States “cryptocurrency.” crypto assets Create a “strategic reserve” of Bitcoin. money was poured into Crypto assets since he won. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is currently valued at over $95,000. And cryptocurrency platform Coinbase's stock price has risen more than 70% since the election.
Paul Grewal, Coinbase's chief legal officer, congratulated Atkins on his post about X.
“I appreciate his commitment to achieving balance in the regulation of U.S. securities markets and look forward to his new leadership at the (SEC),” Grewal wrote. “It’s desperately needed and it can’t happen one day sooner.”
Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, said he was concerned that Atkins would not adequately regulate cryptocurrencies as SEC chairman.
“He will likely take the position that cryptocurrencies are not securities, so an exchange that deals in cryptocurrencies is not a stock exchange,” Sherman said. “The opportunity to deceive investors will exist in a very significant way.”
Atkins began his career as an attorney and has worked for many years in both the government and private financial markets sectors. In the 1990s, he served on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt.
His work as SEC commissioner began in 2002. At the time, criticism of Wall Street and its government regulators was growing in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom corporate scandals.
During his tenure, Atkins was widely considered the SEC's most conservative member and was known for his strong free-market orientation. As a commissioner, he called for greater transparency and analysis of the costs and benefits of new SEC rules.
He also emphasized investor education and increased enforcement against those who steal from investors over the internet, manipulate markets, and engage in Ponzi schemes and other types of fraud.
Atkins also opposed harsh penalties for companies accused of wrongdoing, arguing that they do not deter crime. In the summer of 2006, he caused controversy when he said that granting stock options to executives before news that would definitely cause stock prices to rise was not considered insider trading.
U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, Republican of North Carolina and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Atkins has the experience needed to “restore confidence in the SEC.”
“I am confident that his leadership will bring clarity to the digital asset ecosystem and ensure that U.S. capital markets remain the envy of the world,” McHenry wrote in a post on X.
Mr. Atkins already has experience working for Mr. Trump. Atkins was a member of Congress during President Trump's first term. Presidential Strategy and Policy Foruman advisory group of more than a dozen CEOs and business leaders who provided input on how to create jobs and accelerate economic growth.
In 2017, Atkins joined the cryptocurrency advocacy group Token Alliance.
Crypto industry insiders welcomed Trump's victory in hopes of pushing through long-sought legislative and regulatory changes.
Trump himself started World Liberty Financial. new business Trade cryptocurrencies with your family.
