In summary
- Donald Trump named Paul Atkins as the next SEC Chairman, highlighting his favorable approach toward crypto innovation.
- Atkins, former SEC commissioner and current CEO of Patomak Global Partners, criticizes regulatory uncertainty under Gensler.
- Gensler announced his resignation in January, following heavy criticism for his strict enforcement measures against the Cryptocurrency market.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday via Truth Social that he has chosen Paul Atkins, former commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to lead the regulatory agency as its next Chairman.
Portrayed as a crypto-friendly successor to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, Atkins served as SEC commissioner for six years following his appointment by President George W. Bush.
Currently, Atkins is the CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a financial services consulting firm.
“Paul is a proven leader on common sense regulations,” Trump wrote. “He believes in the promise of robust and innovative capital markets that respond to the needs of investors, and that provide capital to make our economy the best in the world. He also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are crucial to making America bigger than ever.
During his service at the SEC as commissioner, Atkins examined the agency’s enforcement and decision-making activities, advocating for “better transparency and consistency,” according to the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group.
Gensler, who has drawn the ire of the crypto ecosystem for an aggressive series of enforcement actions under his leadership, announced last month that he would resign in January when Trump assumes leadership of the White House.
Gensles’ announcement was widely celebrated by cryptocurrency advocates, who argue that the SEC has exceeded its authority by regulating broad sectors of the crypto market.
During a panel discussion hosted by the Federalist Society in April, Atkins described regulatory uncertainty in the crypto space as “enormous.” He also called Gensler’s repeated calls for token issuers to register with the agency “disingenuous,” arguing that the requirements do not clearly fit the technology.
According to Atkins’ biography page on Patomak Global Ventures, the former commissioner “has led industry efforts to develop best practices for digital asset issuances” while serving as co-chair of the Token Alliance.
Established in 2017, the Digital Chamber of Commerce initiative was presented as a way to “promote and help shape the responsible growth” of token sales.
At the time, Atkins described cryptocurrencies as an “exciting new asset class,” expressing excitement about lending his regulatory expertise to “help foster (the) ecosystem.”
Patomak Global Ventures did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt.
Trump’s likely election was reported before the official announcement by Politico and Unchained, outlets that noted that Atkins will need Senate confirmation. Alternatively, Trump could seek to appoint Atkins through a so-called recess appointment if the Senate is not in session.
Before Trump’s initial election, SEC commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda were seen as potential candidates, along with Chris Giancarlo, former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), among others with regulatory experience.
Giancarlo, nicknamed “Crypto Dad” for his pro-Bitcoin stance at the CFTC, recently said that Gensler’s successor would have to clean up the SEC. Upon taking over from Gensler, Giancarlo wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he had already “cleaned up a previous Gary Gensler mess” at the CFTC, refusing to do so again.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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