Paul Atkins (left) speaks with then-SEC Chairman Christopher Cox during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on June 26, 2007 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. Atkins was an SEC commissioner at the time and is now the president-elect. Trump to be the next Secretary of State Mark Wilson/Getty Images/Getty Images North America Hide caption
Toggle caption Mark Wilson/Getty Images/Getty Images North America
President-elect Donald Trump announced that he has nominated former Securities and Exchange Commissioner Paul Atkins to head the agency.
According to a post he posted on Truth Social on Wednesday.
Mr. Atkins served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008. He is currently the CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm with clients across the financial and crypto industries.
Mr. Atkins is known as a strong supporter of cryptocurrencies and, if confirmed by the Senate, could help shape key regulations for the industry, which Mr. Trump has avidly courted.
“Paul has proven to be a leader in common sense regulation,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “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 before. ”
Current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has announced that he will resign on January 20, the day President Trump is scheduled to take office. Mr. Gensler was broadly hostile to the cryptocurrency industry by pursuing major companies with aggressive enforcement actions.
A new dawn for cryptocurrencies?
Atkins was recently seen as one of the leading candidates to replace Gensler, sparking excitement across the crypto industry.
Cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed since President Trump's election, with Bitcoin nearly exceeding $100,000 for the first time in history, but has since fallen back.
Just a few years ago, President Trump called cryptocurrencies a “scam” and told FOX Business that cryptocurrencies “have the potential for disaster.”
But he was converted. During this year's election, President Trump called for the United States to become the “crypto capital of the planet” by bringing in friendly regulators and eliminating the kind of harsh enforcement actions taken against the sector under President Biden. ” promised to do so. His family also has a financial stake in a cryptocurrency company called World Liberty Financial.
Current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler speaks at a meeting of financial regulators at the Treasury Department in Washington, DC, on May 10, 2024. Gensler, who said he would resign on January 20, has antagonized the crypto industry with his aggressive policies. Enforcement action. Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images/AFP Hide caption
Toggle caption Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
The selection of Atkins, a prominent cryptocurrency backer, could help propel the industry further.
Atkins has previously balked at the SEC's enforcement actions against the domestic crypto industry, saying they could drive the industry overseas rather than growing within the United States.
But crypto critics are wary
But President Trump's support for the cryptocurrency industry has alarmed critics of the industry.
Cryptocurrencies have a history of wild volatility and have been plagued by scams and scams. It is also believed to be widely used not only for terrorism but also for illegal activities such as drug trafficking.
The industry has also seen a remarkable implosion. FTX, once the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, went bankrupt in 2022, with its founder and CEO Sam Bankman Fried accused of stealing billions of dollars in customer funds. convicted of a crime. Bankman Freed was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Nevertheless, Trump was widely expected to appoint crypto-friendly regulators.
The crypto industry could also benefit from a Republican Congress, with Republicans expected to narrowly control both houses of Congress. The makeup of Congress is designed to help the industry defeat lawmakers seen as crypto skeptics, such as Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, the current chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, who lost reelection in November. Partly because it cost millions of dollars.
