Paul Atkins will be the next chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, US president-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday, in an announcement that’s bound to be cheered across the crypto industry.
“Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations,” Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social. “He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before. As Co-Chairman of the Digital Chamber’s Token Alliance since 2017, he has worked on & studied the digital assets industry.”
Atkins, who had been the favorite for the top job, will be replacing current SEC chair Gary Gensler on 20 January. That’s the date Gensler had said he’ll be stepping down. Trump had promised to fire Gensler, an arch-villain to the crypto industry, on his first day in office.
Under Gensler, the SEC adopted an adversarial approach to crypto, taking Coinbase and Binance to court and earning a reputation for “regulation by enforcement.” Translation: aggressive enforcement action but no guidance, allegedly.
Critics claim Gensler’s policies drove companies offshore, leaving investors stranded and the industry in chaos.
Read more: SEC waiting game – who will fix Gensler’s mess?
In a post on X, Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal congratulated Atkins and said his company appreciated “his commitment to balance in regulating US securities markets and look forward to his fresh leadership.” The change at the top of the SEC, he continued, was “sorely needed and cannot come a day too soon.”
Atkins, who is currently CEO at Patomak Global Partners, a strategy and risk management consultancy, was formerly one of five SEC commissioners between 2002 and 2008.
Atkins reportedly met with Trump’s team before Thanksgiving and could bring “reasonable (and workable)” crypto policies, lawyer Jeremy Hogan posted on X. In a podcast last year, Atkins argued that a more accommodating SEC would keep crypto activity stateside, stressing that it was better to have oversight here than overseas.
Atkins was hesitant to take the role because turning the ship around post-Gensler looked like too much work, CoinDesk previously reported. But Atkins was still the favorite to be nominated, according to prediction markets, with Polymarket-rival Kalshi giving Atkins a 66% shot at the job.
Atkins will need to wait for Trump’s inauguration and congressional approval before taking over – and even when he is in the hot seat, don’t expect immediate changes. But for the crypto industry, the celebrations can probably start now.
