Trump Nominates Cryptocurrency Advocate Paul Atkins As SEC Chair

The impact of Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential elections continues, especially within the cryptocurrency sector.

The Associated Press reported that President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The announcement added to the surge in the value of the largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, which passed $100,000 to an all time high of $103,619 (£81,482) on Wednesday.

Paul Atkins

According to the AP, Donald Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.”

In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation.

“He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognises that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump reportedly wrote on Truth Social.

The SEC oversees US securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who was appointed by President Biden in 2021.

Trump had previously promised to fire Gensler, who has also been criticised by the head of Coinbase as well as Binance, for leading a drive to more closely regulate crypto firms under existing securities regulations.

The SEC’s drive has seen a crackdown on companies such as Coinbase and Binance, whose chief executive served four months in prison this summer for the company’s failure to enforce money-laundering regulations.

Earlier this week Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud.

Gary Gensler tweeted in November that he would be stepping down from his post on 20 January 2025 – the day that Trump is inaugurated.

Change of mind

Donald Trump has changed his mind about cryptocurrencies, after he previously criticised them – calling them a “scam”.

During his election campaign, Trump surprised many when he spoke more positively about cryptocurrencies, including a speech in July 2024, in which he suggested creating a “strategic national Bitcoin stockpile”.

He promised to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet”, without specifying any policies.

Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase, reportedly congratulated Atkins in a tweet on X.

“We appreciate his commitment to balance in regulating US securities markets and look forward to his fresh leadership at (the SEC),” Grewal wrote. “It’s sorely needed and cannot come a day too soon.”