{"id":126900,"date":"2025-04-10T15:18:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T15:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=126900"},"modified":"2025-04-10T15:18:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T15:18:00","slug":"atkins-becomes-next-sec-chair-whats-next-for-the-crypto-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=126900","title":{"rendered":"Atkins becomes next SEC chair: What\u2019s next for the crypto industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsThe crypto industry has welcomed the confirmation of American businessman and former US Securities and Exchange Commissioner Paul Atkins as chair of the agency.
\nAtkins\u2019 approval has taken months. He appeared before the Senate on March 27 to explain his intended approach to securities regulation in the United States, as well as his views on digital assets.\u00a0
\nAtkins will replace acting chair Mark Uyeda as head of the agency, which began unwinding a number of court cases and enforcement action against cryptocurrency firms when President Donald Trump took office. However, these actions don\u2019t amount to clear guidance \u2014 yet.
\nNow that Atkins is ready to take the helm, the blockchain industry is hoping for the guidance they\u2019ve been wanting for years. So who is Paul Atkins, and what can the industry expect?
\nSenator Cynthia Lummis celebrated the confirmation. Source: Cynthia LummisPaul Atkins wants to provide guardrails for the crypto industry
\nAn alumnus of Wofford College and Vanderbilt, Atkins has a long career in finance. He initially worked at Davis Polk and Wardwell, before serving on the staff of two former chairmen of the SEC from 1990-1994.
\nNotably, under Chairman Breeden, he assisted in efforts to decrease barriers to entry to capital markets for small businesses and middle market companies.
\nAfter working at PwC and Coopers and Lyband, Atkins joined the SEC again as commissioner at the appointment of former President George W. Bush.
\nAt the SEC, Atkins focused on improving financial services compliance with SEC regulations. He worked with law enforcement agencies in cases where investors were harmed. This included the Bennett Funding incident, a $1 billion Ponzi scheme by the leasing company in which 20,000 investors lost much of their investments.\u00a0
\nAfter leaving this role as commissioner, he founded and led Potomak Global Partners, a consultancy for banks and financial services firms.\u00a0
\nAhead of his 52-44 confirmation vote \u2014 largely along party lines \u2014 Atkins faced a grilling from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. At the hearing, Atkins said the \u201ctop priority\u201d of his tenure as chair would be to \u201cprovide a firm regulatory foundation for digital assets through a rational, coherent and principled approach.\u201d
\nRelated: Trump\u2019s pick for SEC chair makes it out of committee
\nHe said that the current \u201cambiguous and non-existent regulation of digital assets\u201d harms innovation and the sector. More broadly, he claimed that world industry wants to invest in America, but \u201cthe current regulatory environment for our financial system inhibits investment and often punishes success.\u201d
\nCongressman Tom Emmer said of Atkins\u2019 nomination \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be great,\u201d stating that the former Chair Gary Gensler under ex-President Joe Biden had \u201cset a pretty low bar.\u201d Emmer said the SEC can soon provide the clarity the industry expects: \u201cWe need stablecoins. We need market structure. We need to have clarity and certainty in the system.\u201d
\nFaryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, said the confirmation was the \u201cdawn of an era.\u201d
\nSource: Faryar ShirzadSEC actions under Uyeda point to further crypto priorities\u00a0
\nWhile no one has a crystal ball, recent analysis from Cointelegraph shows that the recent dismissals of court cases and enforcement actions may indicate the future direction of crypto regulation \u2014 or lack of regulation \u2014 by the SEC.\u00a0
\nRelated: US gov\u2019t actions give clue about upcoming crypto regulation
\nThe dismissal of cases revolving around \u201cthe unregistered sale and offer of securities under the Securities Act of 1933 and acting unregistered as a broker, dealer, clearing agency and exchange\u201d suggests that the SEC may not consider the assets involved as securities.
\nThis idea is bulwarked by recent statements from the SEC that proof-of-work mining, pooled mining and dollar-backed stablecoins are not subject to securities laws. On the whole, this suggests that the SEC does not consider cryptocurrencies to be subject to securities law.\u00a0
\nCrypto agenda could be hamstrung by recent SEC dismissals
\nOne point of friction in Aktins\u2019 ascension to SEC chair is the recent spate of dismissals of SEC staff. The Trump administration\u2019s efforts to cut certain types of government spending through the temporary committee of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has not spared the securities regulator.\u00a0
\nAs reported by Politico in March, a combination of different buyout and dismissal programs will effectively get rid of 10% of the agency\u2019s 5,000-strong workforce in the coming months. One source mentioned in the report suggested the total could be closer to 15%.
\nDOGE leader Elon Musk \u2014 who himself has run afoul of the SEC numerous times throughout his career \u2014 is reportedly seeking further cuts to the SEC\u2019s already lacerated budget and staff.\u00a0\u00a0
\nA group of prominent securities law professors known as the “Shadow SEC,” have raised the alarm about the recent cuts, saying the policy is \u201cdiminishing the SEC\u2019s staff will lead to chaotic financial markets, longer review times for registration statements, and weakened enforcement capabilities.\u201d
\nCreating a new framework for digital assets, especially from scratch, could take longer if the agency is bleeding staff and expertise while Musk wields a scythe in Washington.\u00a0
\nMagazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging researchRead More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsThe crypto industry has welcomed the confirmation of American businessman and former US Securities and Exchange Commissioner Paul Atkins as chair of the agency. Atkins\u2019 approval has taken… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126900"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126900\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}