Crypto gets the SEC boss it wanted in Paul Atkins

President-elect Donald Trump’s chosen head of the SEC, Paul Atkins, is the boss the crypto industry has wanted.

Wall Street might like him too.

For years, Atkins has made it clear that he supports clearer regulations for cryptocurrencies that do not hinder innovation or impose unnecessary oversight. He also criticized the Dodd-Frank legislation, which was enacted after the 2008 financial crisis to rein in the largest U.S. banks.

If confirmed, he would replace outgoing Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, who became a major enemy of the crypto world due to his crackdown on many of the industry’s biggest players.

Atkins, President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement posted on Truth Social on Wednesday that he is a “proven leader on common-sense regulations” and “recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are critical to making America greater.” than ever before.”

Gensler’s departure as SEC chairman was high on the wish list of many crypto executives, and Trump made the SEC chief’s removal a promise to the industry during the election campaign.

Atkins previously served as a Republican SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008 and in 2009 founded the Washington consulting firm Pomak Global Partners, which helps companies deal with U.S. regulators.

Many expect him to take a much more positive stance towards the crypto world. Atkins has previously said the SEC’s aggressive approach to the industry could prompt some firms to locate outside the United States.

“If the SEC were more forthcoming and, as you know, dealt directly with these various (crypto) firms, I think it would be much better for things to happen here in the United States rather than outside,” Atkins continued a podcast in February last year.

The crypto industry welcomed Atkins’ nomination on Wednesday and the price of Bitcoin rose once again to within striking distance of $100,000. At the beginning of the year, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading at $42,265.

He “is absolutely the right choice,” Chris Giancarlo, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, told Yahoo Finance, calling him “an advocate for blockchain and digital assets.”

Atkins’ nomination is “urgently necessary and cannot come a day too soon,” Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase (COIN), added on X. Coinbase was one of many cryptocurrency companies sued by Gensler’s SEC.

The change at the top of the SEC is the latest of several signs that cryptocurrencies could become a key issue for the new administration after it takes office in 2025.

The story continues

Another, according to Bloomberg, was a report on discussions within the Trump transition team about creating the first White House post dedicated to cryptocurrency policy.

According to federal filings and public statements, Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and several of Trump’s presidential nominees have disclosed or discussed their involvement in cryptocurrencies through ownership of assets or business interests in the past.

According to an August Federal Election Commission disclosure, Trump owned between $1 million and $5 million in Ethereum (ETH-USD), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency.

He and his sons are also backers of World Liberty Financial, a crypto project they have promoted on social media.

In exchange for this promotion, a limited liability company owned by the Trump family will receive 22.5% of the project’s crypto token (WLFI-USD), as well as 75% of all net proceeds after World Liberty makes $30 million.

Trump has also met with crypto industry figures in recent weeks, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

During the election campaign this summer, the current presidential elector promised to appoint a crypto presidential advisory board made up of people “who love your industry, not hate it” within 100 days.

He also committed to establishing a strategic national Bitcoin reserve with the help of Congress.

Atkins’ appointment as head of the SEC would also likely be good news for Wall Street. He has long criticized financial reforms introduced after the 2008 financial crisis.

When he testified before the House Financial Services Committee in 2015, he criticized some of those rules. The banks’ proprietary trading was significantly restricted.

Another gave a panel of regulators, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), powers that allow those executives to classify nonbank financial institutions as “systemically important.”

“This group of regulators has significant power to advance the regulatory agenda of its member agencies, such as the SEC,” he said during his testimony.

“It has little accountability to Congress or the American people.”

David Hollerith is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering banking, crypto and other financial areas.

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