Paul Atkins, President Trump’s nominee to become the next Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, passed a key vote from the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
Following the 13-11 vote, in which all Democrats on the Committee opposed Trump’s pick, Atkins’ nomination will now proceed to the Senate floor for a full vote.
Atkins is an SEC veteran who previously served as an agency commissioner under President George W. Bush. He is widely expected to institute favorable policies for the crypto industry.
Crypto Rules Top Paul Atkins’ SEC Agenda Ahead of Committee Hearing
Paul Atkins, the Trump administration’s pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, said regulation of crypto will be a top priority if confirmed as chairman. In prepared remarks ahead of a confirmation hearing Thursday morning before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Atkins took aim at “ambiguous and non-existent” digital asset regulation that has hindered market growth. “Since 2017, as I have led industry efforts to develop best practices for the digital ass...
Last week, during a confirmation hearing before the Senate, Atkins declared that creating a “regulatory foundation for digital assets” will be a top priority of his chairmanship.
Notably, several Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee who previously embraced crypto legislation opposed Atkins’ nomination on Thursday. Just last month, five of those Democrats voted to advance the GENIUS Act, a bill that would create a regulatory framework for issuing stablecoins in the United States.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), a co-sponsor of that legislation, opposed Atkins’ nomination today. So did Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), the top Democrat on the Senate’s new Digital Assets Subcommittee.
The vote may have come down to more than crypto. In recent weeks, Democratic lawmakers have come under fire from hometown constituencies who feel they have not done enough to block the quickly accelerating moves of the second Trump administration. A vote to advance one of the president’s most consequential appointees could have invited such criticism.
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The price of Bitcoin popped and then dropped on Wednesday after the White House pressed forward with U.S. President Donald Trump’s highly anticipated tariffs. “Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” Trump said from the White House Rose Garden. “But it’s not going to happen anymore.” The leading cryptocurrency was recently changing hands around $85,500, down 1.1% over the past hour, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko. During Trump’s remarks, Bitcoin...
In Atkins’ absence, though, the SEC has nonetheless been moving at breakneck speed to upend financial regulation—particularly when it comes to crypto.
Though the Commission is currently operating with just three voting members, as opposed to the full five, Acting Chair Mark Uyeda and Commissioner Hester Peirce, both Republicans, have instituted numerous policies favorable to the crypto industry. They have already issued statements effectively exempting meme coins and crypto mining from securities regulation, and are poised to carve out additional sectors of the industry.
In the same period, the Commission has also moved to dismiss almost every single one of its major lawsuits and investigations against American crypto companies and projects—most of which were filed during the Biden administration.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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