Industry News
Jan 28, 2025
Industry News
Industry News
Donald Trump has nominated Paul Atkins as the new SEC Chair.
Atkins is expected to replace Gensler and shift the agency's recent anti-crypto stance.
Several crypto industry executives welcomed Atkins' nomination.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would nominate Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as its next chair.
Atkins, a former SEC commissioner and a well-known figure in Washington legal circles, seeks to replace Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s tenacious chair. His aggressive rulemaking and persistent crackdown on the $3 trillion crypto industry led him to clash with many digital asset advocates, including Trump.
On the campaign trail, Trump branded himself as the pro-crypto presidential candidate for the U.S., vowing to fire Gensler on “day one” and replace him with a chair who “will build the future, not block the future.” The embattled SEC chair plans to leave the agency on January 20, 2025, according to a statement issued on November 21, three weeks after Trump’s decisive victory.
On December 4, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to break the news, touting Atkins as an experienced leader for “common sense regulations.”
“I am delighted to announce the nomination of Paul Atkins to be the next Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission,” Trump wrote. “Paul is a proven leader for common-sense regulations. He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our economy the best in the world.”
If confirmed, Atkins will be at the helm of the apex financial agency. He is expected to depart from Gensler’s anti-crypto stance and take a lighter regulatory approach to help fulfill Trump’s promises to the digital asset industry.
In addition to promising to make America the “crypto capital of the planet,” Trump also vowed to create a strategic national digital asset stockpile and ensure the U.S. government never offloads its Bitcoin holdings. He promised that Web3 regulations would be “written by people who love the industry” amid plans to create a Bitcoin and crypto “presidential advisory council.”
Trump asserted in his Wednesday announcement that Atkins “recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” reaffirming his faith in the seasoned securities lawyer to further his crypto agenda.
Shortly after leaving the SEC in 2008, Atkins founded Patomak Global Partners, a financial services consulting firm that provides advisory services to banks, crypto exchanges, and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms on regulatory and compliance matters.
Besides serving on the advisory board for Securitize, a crypto firm that promotes the use of digital tokens, Atkins has been actively engaged in drafting “best practices” for digital asset platforms as co-chair of the Token Alliance, an industry-led initiative of the Chamber of Digital Commerce made up of over 400 industry leaders, innovators, and technologists.
The news of Atkins’ nomination to replace Gensler atop the SEC was received well in the crypto industry as keen observers watch how Trump’s pro-digital asset agenda takes shape amid his transition.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal was among the first notable names in the crypto industry to welcome Atkins’ nomination as the next SEC chair.
“Congratulations to Mr. Atkins. We appreciate his commitment to balance in regulating US securities markets and look forward to his fresh leadership at @SECGov. It's sorely needed and cannot come a day too soon.” Grewal wrote on X.
Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss lauded Atkins as a “great choice” for the SEC, which he claimed stifled innovation and “protected” investors from “the likes of Bitcoin ETFs” instead of living up to its congressional mandate to provide fair and orderly markets. “Atkins will usher in common sense and a do no harm approach,” Cameron proclaimed on X.
While Atkins’ nomination to the SEC could usher in a new era of digital asset regulation in the U.S., with many observers, including House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry lauding his leadership skills, reports suggest that the securities lawyer was reluctant to take the job.
According to FOX Business, Atkins recently voiced a desire to let Commissioner Hester Peirce lead the next administration’s crypto policies alongside her colleague Mark Uyeda. Pierce’s and Uyeda’s terms at the agency are up in 2024 and 2028, respectively.
Donald Trump has nominated Paul Atkins as the new SEC Chair.
Atkins is expected to replace Gensler and shift the agency's recent anti-crypto stance.
Several crypto industry executives welcomed Atkins' nomination.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would nominate Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as its next chair.
Atkins, a former SEC commissioner and a well-known figure in Washington legal circles, seeks to replace Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s tenacious chair. His aggressive rulemaking and persistent crackdown on the $3 trillion crypto industry led him to clash with many digital asset advocates, including Trump.
On the campaign trail, Trump branded himself as the pro-crypto presidential candidate for the U.S., vowing to fire Gensler on “day one” and replace him with a chair who “will build the future, not block the future.” The embattled SEC chair plans to leave the agency on January 20, 2025, according to a statement issued on November 21, three weeks after Trump’s decisive victory.
On December 4, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to break the news, touting Atkins as an experienced leader for “common sense regulations.”
“I am delighted to announce the nomination of Paul Atkins to be the next Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission,” Trump wrote. “Paul is a proven leader for common-sense regulations. He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our economy the best in the world.”
If confirmed, Atkins will be at the helm of the apex financial agency. He is expected to depart from Gensler’s anti-crypto stance and take a lighter regulatory approach to help fulfill Trump’s promises to the digital asset industry.
In addition to promising to make America the “crypto capital of the planet,” Trump also vowed to create a strategic national digital asset stockpile and ensure the U.S. government never offloads its Bitcoin holdings. He promised that Web3 regulations would be “written by people who love the industry” amid plans to create a Bitcoin and crypto “presidential advisory council.”
Trump asserted in his Wednesday announcement that Atkins “recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” reaffirming his faith in the seasoned securities lawyer to further his crypto agenda.
Shortly after leaving the SEC in 2008, Atkins founded Patomak Global Partners, a financial services consulting firm that provides advisory services to banks, crypto exchanges, and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms on regulatory and compliance matters.
Besides serving on the advisory board for Securitize, a crypto firm that promotes the use of digital tokens, Atkins has been actively engaged in drafting “best practices” for digital asset platforms as co-chair of the Token Alliance, an industry-led initiative of the Chamber of Digital Commerce made up of over 400 industry leaders, innovators, and technologists.
The news of Atkins’ nomination to replace Gensler atop the SEC was received well in the crypto industry as keen observers watch how Trump’s pro-digital asset agenda takes shape amid his transition.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal was among the first notable names in the crypto industry to welcome Atkins’ nomination as the next SEC chair.
“Congratulations to Mr. Atkins. We appreciate his commitment to balance in regulating US securities markets and look forward to his fresh leadership at @SECGov. It's sorely needed and cannot come a day too soon.” Grewal wrote on X.
Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss lauded Atkins as a “great choice” for the SEC, which he claimed stifled innovation and “protected” investors from “the likes of Bitcoin ETFs” instead of living up to its congressional mandate to provide fair and orderly markets. “Atkins will usher in common sense and a do no harm approach,” Cameron proclaimed on X.
While Atkins’ nomination to the SEC could usher in a new era of digital asset regulation in the U.S., with many observers, including House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry lauding his leadership skills, reports suggest that the securities lawyer was reluctant to take the job.
According to FOX Business, Atkins recently voiced a desire to let Commissioner Hester Peirce lead the next administration’s crypto policies alongside her colleague Mark Uyeda. Pierce’s and Uyeda’s terms at the agency are up in 2024 and 2028, respectively.
Donald Trump has nominated Paul Atkins as the new SEC Chair.
Atkins is expected to replace Gensler and shift the agency's recent anti-crypto stance.
Several crypto industry executives welcomed Atkins' nomination.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would nominate Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as its next chair.
Atkins, a former SEC commissioner and a well-known figure in Washington legal circles, seeks to replace Gary Gensler, President Joe Biden’s tenacious chair. His aggressive rulemaking and persistent crackdown on the $3 trillion crypto industry led him to clash with many digital asset advocates, including Trump.
On the campaign trail, Trump branded himself as the pro-crypto presidential candidate for the U.S., vowing to fire Gensler on “day one” and replace him with a chair who “will build the future, not block the future.” The embattled SEC chair plans to leave the agency on January 20, 2025, according to a statement issued on November 21, three weeks after Trump’s decisive victory.
On December 4, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to break the news, touting Atkins as an experienced leader for “common sense regulations.”
“I am delighted to announce the nomination of Paul Atkins to be the next Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission,” Trump wrote. “Paul is a proven leader for common-sense regulations. He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our economy the best in the world.”
If confirmed, Atkins will be at the helm of the apex financial agency. He is expected to depart from Gensler’s anti-crypto stance and take a lighter regulatory approach to help fulfill Trump’s promises to the digital asset industry.
In addition to promising to make America the “crypto capital of the planet,” Trump also vowed to create a strategic national digital asset stockpile and ensure the U.S. government never offloads its Bitcoin holdings. He promised that Web3 regulations would be “written by people who love the industry” amid plans to create a Bitcoin and crypto “presidential advisory council.”
Trump asserted in his Wednesday announcement that Atkins “recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” reaffirming his faith in the seasoned securities lawyer to further his crypto agenda.
Shortly after leaving the SEC in 2008, Atkins founded Patomak Global Partners, a financial services consulting firm that provides advisory services to banks, crypto exchanges, and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms on regulatory and compliance matters.
Besides serving on the advisory board for Securitize, a crypto firm that promotes the use of digital tokens, Atkins has been actively engaged in drafting “best practices” for digital asset platforms as co-chair of the Token Alliance, an industry-led initiative of the Chamber of Digital Commerce made up of over 400 industry leaders, innovators, and technologists.
The news of Atkins’ nomination to replace Gensler atop the SEC was received well in the crypto industry as keen observers watch how Trump’s pro-digital asset agenda takes shape amid his transition.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal was among the first notable names in the crypto industry to welcome Atkins’ nomination as the next SEC chair.
“Congratulations to Mr. Atkins. We appreciate his commitment to balance in regulating US securities markets and look forward to his fresh leadership at @SECGov. It's sorely needed and cannot come a day too soon.” Grewal wrote on X.
Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss lauded Atkins as a “great choice” for the SEC, which he claimed stifled innovation and “protected” investors from “the likes of Bitcoin ETFs” instead of living up to its congressional mandate to provide fair and orderly markets. “Atkins will usher in common sense and a do no harm approach,” Cameron proclaimed on X.
While Atkins’ nomination to the SEC could usher in a new era of digital asset regulation in the U.S., with many observers, including House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry lauding his leadership skills, reports suggest that the securities lawyer was reluctant to take the job.
According to FOX Business, Atkins recently voiced a desire to let Commissioner Hester Peirce lead the next administration’s crypto policies alongside her colleague Mark Uyeda. Pierce’s and Uyeda’s terms at the agency are up in 2024 and 2028, respectively.
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