New SEC Chairman Takes Office, Understand Many Recent Friendly Policies in One Article

[TL；DR]:

On April 9, the U.S. Senate confirmed former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins as the new SEC Chairman by 52 votes to 44. The new Chairman, Paul Atkins, who is known for his “free market” philosophy, said that he would make the development of a digital asset regulatory framework a “top priority,” marking a major shift in the SEC’s attitude toward crypto regulation.

Paul Atkins’ friendly and relaxed stance is closely related to his upbringing and career. During his tenure as SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008, he was known for his support for free market principles and reducing regulatory burdens.

Paul Atkins’ appointment is part of the Trump administration’s overall crypto-friendly policy. It is expected to adhere to the policy philosophy of reducing regulation and promoting innovation, but challenges still exist.

Introduction

While everyone is paying close attention to the recent turmoil in the crypto market under Trump’s extreme tariff policy, a move to boost the market is quietly taking place - the new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, has recently taken office and is taking the stage as a friendly person, bringing new vitality to the industry.

Paul Atkins Takes Over the SEC, and the Friendly New Policy Brings Hope

Recently, the macroeconomic risks represented by the Sino-US tariff trade war have continued to escalate, and the shock of the global supply chain has been transmitted to the financial market. The price of Bitcoin has also fallen below $75,000. Many of the author’s recent blog posts have also discussed the general background of the sell-off of crypto assets. As of the date of writing, market sentiment is still in a downturn.

However, a turning point has quietly arrived. On April 9, the U.S. Senate confirmed former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins as the new SEC Chairman by 52 votes to 44, replacing predecessor Gary Gensler. Gensler is known for strict law enforcement, while the new chairman, Paul Atkins, who is known for his “free market” philosophy, said that he would make the development of a digital asset regulatory framework a “top priority,” marking a major shift in the SEC’s attitude toward crypto regulation.

Source: @EleanorTerrett

Paul Atkins has been promoting a number of favorable policies and activities since he took office:

April 10: The SEC approved several Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) options trading applications from BlackRock, Bitwise, and others through an “accelerated approval” procedure.

April 11: The SEC’s Financial Division issued a statement providing regulatory references for issuing and registering securities in the crypto asset market. The statement explains the applicability of federal securities laws to crypto assets and lists disclosures that issuers may need to consider, including business deions, risk factors, security characteristics, and management information, marking a shift from “enforcement supervision” to “guidance supervision.” On the same day, the SEC and Ripple reached a settlement agreement. The two parties jointly applied for a stay of appeal and formally withdrew the lawsuit against Nova Labs (developer of the Helium network), showing a softer attitude.

April 12: SEC leadership said on Friday it would consider establishing a regulatory sandbox for digital assets, allowing crypto exchanges to freely experiment in new areas, including potentially opening up trading in tokenized securities.

April 16: The SEC concluded its investigation into the financial disclosures of NFT project CyberKongz and Coinbase; in addition, the joint motion for a stay of appeal previously filed with Ripple was approved.
April 17: The SEC said it will hold its third crypto policy roundtable on April 25, focusing on crypto custody. The meeting features two panels — one on broker-dealers and wallet custody, and another on investment advisers and investment company custody.

Source: Bloomberg

More importantly, Atkins’ appointment accelerated the resolution of past legacy cases. For example, the lawsuit against Helium network developer Nova Labs mentioned above ended quietly, and Ripple’s long-standing dispute with the SEC was settled. These actions set a positive precedent for similar projects and let the market see the possibility of regulatory relaxation. As I often emphasize in previous blog posts, policy shifts are often a prelude to market turning points, and the signals released by the SEC do not seem to have been fully priced in by the market, so it is more important to discuss.

Paul Atkins’ Resume: From a Small-town Test-taker to a Regulatory Pioneer

Paul Atkins takes a friendly and relaxed stance, closely tied to his upbringing and career.

According to public information, Atkins was born in a small town in North Carolina, USA, and then spent his teenage years in Tampa, Florida. After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wofford College, he entered Vanderbilt University Law School for further studies. He became a senior student writing editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review. This experience cultivated his attention to legal details and rigorous thinking.

Source: @realDonaldTrump

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Atkins served as SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008, when he was known for his support for the free market. For example, in 2005, he opposed increasing hedge fund regulation, emphasizing that excessive regulation would affect market liquidity. During this period, he was known for his support for free market principles and his position on reducing regulatory burdens, and he once publicly stated: “The SEC must not squeeze investors out of the market through onerous regulation.”

This philosophy runs through his entire career. After leaving the SEC, he founded Patomak Global Partners to provide consulting services to crypto companies, such as assisting Ripple in responding to lawsuits. Atkins also leads the Token Alliance, which is committed to developing best practices for digital assets.

Source: Atkins

It is worth mentioning that Atkins himself is also an active participant in the crypto industry. According to Fortune magazine, he holds up to $6 million in crypto-related assets, including shares in Anchorage and Securitize. Although this investment has triggered questions from Senator Elizabeth Warren about his potential conflict of interest, he responded that these assets reflect his optimism about the potential of the technology rather than speculative attempts. In my opinion, this identity of a “coin holder” may be one of the reasons why he can truly understand the needs of the crypto industry.

It is not difficult to see from the above that Atkins’ background shows that he not only supports cryptocurrency in theory but also participates in practice, laying the foundation for its promotion of friendly policies. The author mentioned in “Gary Gensler May Resign, Analyze SEC’s Approach to Crypto Regulation“ that regulators’ personal experience often profoundly impacts their policies, and Atkins is a typical case.

In the Trump Era, What Regulatory Trends Will There Be in the Future?

From a broader perspective, Paul Atkins’ appointment is part of the Trump administration’s overall crypto-friendly policy. If nothing unexpected happens, the SEC will continue this friendly, relaxed regulatory approach.

In fact, as early as last year during the campaign, Trump repeatedly expressed his support for Bitcoin and blockchain technology as a manifestation of his policy strategy of economic nationalism and technological competition. After Trump took office, he quickly abolished the IRS broker rules for DeFi platforms, passed the Stablecoin Act, proposed a Bitcoin strategic reserve plan, and held the first White House Cryptocurrency Summit.

Source: @NaeemAslam23

In this context, Atkins’ control of the SEC naturally needs to cater to the Trump administration’s governing strategy. Loosening regulations is conducive to achieving:

Demand for capital repatriation: The tariff war has led to the withdrawal of foreign capital from the United States. Relaxed crypto regulation can attract global blockchain companies to settle in, such as cooperating with D.O.G.E., led by Musk, to reduce the burden on crypto companies and promote growth.

Struggle for technological sovereignty: The Trump administration regards blockchain as the “next generation of financial infrastructure.” Advancement of strategic Bitcoin and other crypto reserve plans requires the SEC’s cooperation to clarify token attributes.

Electoral political game: Traditional Republican strongholds such as Texas and Florida have passed crypto-friendly bills, and policy relaxation at the federal level will consolidate local support.

Looking back at Paul Atkins’ resume and recent policy trends, it is not difficult to find that Atkins has continued the consistent policy of the Trump administration, which is to emphasize reducing regulation and promoting innovation. His appointment marks a major transformation of the SEC from “iron fist” to “inclusiveness,” and will also draw a clear path for the crypto industry.

Source: @SECGov

However, challenges remain. On the one hand, Atkins’ pro-industry tendencies may weaken investor protection and arouse public doubts. After all, the FTX explosion in 2022 is still fresh in people’s minds. On the other hand, Trump’s policy variability may also limit his room for maneuver.

In short, in the interweaving of tariff wars and technological revolutions, the SEC’s policy relaxation may be the “first domino” of market recovery. The author believes that with the change of multiple negative sentiments in the market, the “policy bottom” of the SEC’s series of friendly actions has emerged, and the positive change of the crypto market from falling to rising is just around the corner.