Trump Makes Conventional Pick to Helm SEC in Crypto Champion Atkins

President-elect Donald J. Trump has picked a familiar face to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, tabbing 66-year-old Paul Atkins to return to the agency where he served as a commissioner from 2002 to 2008.

Atkins has a well-established reputation for his conservative views on government regulation, which is to say that he generally opposes it. His selection fits with the Trump administration’s well-publicized plans to pave the way for cryptocurrency to play a greater role in the economy. Speaking at a conference in the United Arab Emirates this week, Trump’s son Eric told attendees to prepare for “the most pro-crypto president in the history of America” once his father takes office. “Think about a president who isn’t going to allow Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to be overregulated and stifled,” he said.

For the past 15 years, Atkins helmed consulting firm Patomak Global Partners, which provides strategic advice to clients across the financial sector. That group includes crypto companies. Notably, Patomak advised cryptocurrency exchange FTX on its derivatives business prior to its implosion in 2022. FTX’s infamous founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was later convicted of defrauding the company’s customers.

Importantly, Atkins has chastised President Joe Biden’s administration for its orientation towards crypto regulation. Under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC has generally classified crypto tokens as securities. As such, cryptocurrencies have been subject to the same rules for protecting investors as other tradable financial assets like stocks.

Critics such as Atkins maintain that approach fueled crypto’s growth in international financial markets that created specific regulatory regimes for digital assets. Atkins currently serves on the board of advisors to the Chamber of Digital Commerce, whose members include all manner of stakeholders in digital assets. The organization describes “regulatory clarity for digital tokens” among the policy priorities on its website: “We are actively educating and proposing solutions to regulators and policy makers to help promote a predictable legal environment for those engaging with digital tokens.”

In addition to new crypto regulation, Atkins would almost certainly curb the SEC’s use of financial penalties against companies. The agency would instead focus on sanctioning individuals involved in financial misdeeds. Meanwhile, embattled efforts to implement new regulations for climate disclosures and short selling would likely come to an end. The same could be said for oversight of private investment funds.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of Atkins’ nomination as SEC chair is that he is a rather conventional choice for the post. Trump has famously pledged to “drain the swamp” of insiders, lobbyists and bureaucrats in the federal government. However, Atkins would enter the SEC through Washington, D.C.’s revolving door of government officials turned private-sector bigwigs turned government officials again. (Contrast his establishment credentials against some of the television personalities Trump has nominated for other positions in his return to the White House.)

Some SEC employees now attempting to go back to the private sector may not be so lucky. Crypto exchange Coinbase, for example, has indicated it won’t hire firms that employ former SEC lawyers who played a part in crypto enforcement. Unfortunately for these attorneys, the revolving door may be jammed shut.