Paul Atkins to serve as SEC Chairman, leading the SEC and crypto into a new era

Deng Tong, Golden Finance; Source: Golden Finance, Fox, CoinTelegraph, Twitter, Coingecko

I. Introduction

Trump has chosen Paul Atkins, a digital asset advocate and senior financial regulator, as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler plans to step down on January 20. After the announcement, cryptocurrencies rose in the short term. Current SEC Chairman Gensler is a hardliner whose ambitious agenda has led him to clash with Wall Street and the crypto industry. Atkins believes that a robust and innovative capital market can meet the needs of investors and provide funds to drive the U.S. economy to continue to lead. In addition, Atkins believes that digital assets and other innovations are essential to keep the United States ahead. Atkins is expected to review a number of rules and court enforcement actions under Gensler, take a softer approach to cryptocurrencies, and seek rule changes aimed at promoting capital formation.

As for the question of "Who is Paul Atkins, the popular candidate for SEC Chairman?", Jinse Finance has already written an article, so I will not repeat it here. You can click the link to view the specific content.

Second, multiple identities and encryption concepts pave the way for Atkins to become SEC Chairman

Atkins has multiple identities: a well-known securities lawyer, a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission during the administration of former President George W. Bush, the founder of the financial consulting firm Patomak Global Partners, and a policy adviser during Trump's first presidency.

Atkins worked at the SEC for ten years and has a deep understanding of the $100 trillion securities market under the SEC's jurisdiction and its internal operations. During this period, he advocated for more transparent and consistent formulation and implementation, as well as lower barriers to entry into the financial market.

Trump has promised to give priority to finding a candidate for the next chairman who can fight against the current SEC Chairman Gensler. In addition to promising to "fire" Gensler on day one and make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the world," Trump also promised to appoint a chairman who "will build the future, not hinder it."

Thus, Atkins' excellent career resume and his crypto attitude that coincides with Trump's double blessing pave the way for him to eventually become SEC chairman.

Trump announced the news on Truth Social on Wednesday, noting that Atkins is a "proven leader in common-sense regulation." Atkins met with Trump on Monday.

Trump has high expectations for Atkins: "He believes in the prospects of strong, innovative capital markets that respond to investor demand and provide capital to make our economy the best in the world. He also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are critical to making America greater than ever before."

Atkins has publicly stated that It is necessary to develop best practices for digital assets and their trading platforms. Since 2017, he has served as co-chairman of the Token Alliance. The Token Alliance is an industry-led initiative composed of former regulators, industry experts and lawyers to promote the mainstreaming of digital assets. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, a leading cryptocurrency advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.

Atkins' attitude towards cryptocurrency obviously coincides with the content of Trump's speech at the Bitcoin Conference. As early as July this year, at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference held in Nashville, Trump publicly expressed his favor for the crypto industry and was full of confidence in the crypto field: the crypto industry is "the steel industry 100 years ago, and it is still in its infancy", "one day, it may surpass gold"; will ensure that the United States becomes the cryptocurrency capital of the earth and the world's Bitcoin superpower; promise to maintain a "national strategic Bitcoin reserve" and "never sell" Bitcoin seized by the government.

For more details, please refer to the Golden Finance article "Review of Trump's Bitcoin Conference Speech: Ensuring that the United States Becomes a Bitcoin Superpower"

From Trump's praise of Atkins' words and Atkins' own attitude towards cryptocurrencies, the new SEC will abandon the crackdown on cryptocurrencies and make blockchain innovation part of its regulatory agenda.

Third, the SEC will shift from radical and over-politicized to fair and orderly

The SEC will enter a new era with Atkins' appointment. Many people believe that Gensler's tenure was characterized by a radical and over-politicized rule-making agenda, which deviated from the SEC's congressional authorization to provide a fair and orderly market and ensure investor protection.

One of Gensler’s most controversial edicts was mandating that public companies adopt certain environmental and social governance guidelines, including disclosing their carbon footprint. Gensler’s tenure was also known for a tough enforcement policy — particularly against the $3 trillion cryptocurrency industry, against which the SEC has brought more than 100 enforcement actions.

SEC watchers believe Gensler’s agenda, including the climate disclosure rule, which is currently under review in federal court, will be overturned under Atkins’ ruling. The ruling was welcomed by progressive advocacy groups and politicians, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., but was widely criticized by business groups as costly, difficult to implement and potentially illegal because securities laws are not designed to force companies to have social policies, but to protect shareholders.

IV. Industry insiders’ evaluation of Atkins

Hester Peirce, “Crypto Mom” and Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), posted on the X platform: “At the SEC, we still have a lot of work to do to advance free markets, capital formation, investor choice and innovation. I am very pleased that Paul Atkins will be back to lead this work. I worked with him during his last tenure at the agency, and I can’t think of anyone better suited for this job than him.”

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said: I agree with the views of US SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and believe that Paul Atkins is an excellent candidate for the new SEC Chairman.

“President-elect Trump has made an excellent choice for SEC Chairman,” said Chris Giancarlo, who served as Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during Trump’s first term. “Atkins is known for his professional integrity and wisdom. As a former Commissioner, he has a wealth of knowledge and respect for the agency. After years of regulatory hostility, he will encourage technological innovation, cryptocurrency and digital finance. I am confident that Atkins will restore the SEC to its historic role in promoting capital formation and U.S. economic growth.”

Katrina, Chief Legal Officer of Pantera Paglia said the SEC’s lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies and blockchain projects will “quietly fade away” under the SEC’s new leadership.

Atkins is uniquely positioned to support President-elect Trump’s vision to solidify the U.S. as a global leader in digital asset innovation, said Cody Carbone, president of the Chamber of Digital Commerce.

Paul will not only bring experience and digital asset expertise to the Commission, but also the clarity the industry deserves on Day One. This is a home run pick.”

Atkins knows the agency, knows the markets, and knows what needs to be done. I expect him to hit the ground running,” said Jay Clayton, senior policy adviser at top law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, who hopes Atkins will reform the proxy voting process that requires advisers to disclose potential conflicts of interest when advising investors how to vote. Clayton also thinks Atkins will overturn Gensler’s climate disclosure rules.

Five. Atkins' colleagues

Atkins recently expressed his hope that Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce, known as "Crypto Mom," would lead crypto policy with her Republican colleague Mark Uyeda. It was previously reported that Peirce hopes to lead an internal crypto working group that will reassess the agency's attitude toward digital assets and engage in open dialogue with the industry. Peirce's term ends in June, and it is unclear whether she wants to be nominated for the position again. Uyeda's term ends in 2028.

In addition to the "Crypto Mom" ​​who is familiar to crypto people, there are several crypto-friendly members in Trump's new cabinet.

Vice President J.D. Vance is a staunch crypto supporter: he has publicly mentioned cryptocurrencies many times. When opposing the Canadian authorities' ban on the bank accounts of drivers under epidemic control, he said, "This is why cryptocurrencies are booming. If you have the wrong political views, the regime will cut off your access to banking services." In February of this year, he also raised questions when the SEC launched an enforcement action against the cryptocurrency mining company Debt Box.

J.D. Vance's most recent disclosed holdings show that as of 2022, J.D. Vance owns Bitcoin worth $100,001 to $250,000 and holds these assets through Coinbase. J.D. Vance also opened accounts at Robinhood and Charles Schwab, but did not disclose specific holdings.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant: "Cryptocurrency is very consistent with the spirit of the Republican Party. Cryptocurrency represents freedom, and the crypto economy is an irreversible trend."

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick: Lutnick worked at Cantor Fitzgerald and became its CEO. After being nominated by Trump as Secretary of Commerce, he plans to hand over the company's Tether business relationship to his son Brandon Lutnick. At the 2024 Bitcoin Conference, he said: Bitcoin is the same as gold. Bitcoin should be traded like gold - globally, without exception. Bitcoin is the economy of the future! Lutnick once revealed that he owns hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin and expects that number to reach billions soon.

There are also several other crypto-friendly people, which will not be listed in detail here. You can check the Golden Finance article "A list of possible Trump cabinet members. Who are the crypto-friendly people"

Not only are these cabinet members who have not taken office good for the crypto market, but the news that Gensler will resign has also made the crypto market more active. Many analysts believe that the bull market in the crypto market will continue until 2025. Since the news of Gensler's resignation, Solana ETF applications have surged, with Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares and Canary Capital all submitting applications to the SEC.

According to the Blockchain Association, despite repeated requests from industry executives for the SEC to clearly regulate cryptocurrencies, the SEC filed 104 lawsuits against industry companies between 2021 and 2023. "The era of legal battles against our industry must end," the Blockchain Association wrote in October 2024.

VI. Summary

Affected by the good news that Trump appointed Paul Atkins as the new SEC chairman, BTC has soared since last night. As of press time, it has broken through the $100,000 mark and is now at $103,322, up 8.1% on the day.

It took only 15 years for cryptocurrency to go from geek technology and financial experiments to being recognized by the majority of investors and institutions rushing into the market. In these 15 years, Bitcoin has been criticized and killed countless times, but time has witnessed the development of this new financial revolution. Starting from the story of a pizza, BTC has an unimaginable legendary attribute.