Who is Paul Atkins, Donald Trump’s pick for SEC chairman?

President-elect Donald Trump has picked Paul Atkins to replace Gary Gensler as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Once Gensler resigns effective January 20, many anticipate an abrupt change within the world’s most powerful and well-staffed securities regulator.

What should the crypto community expect to see under Atkins’ leadership, assuming he accepts Trump’s nomination?

For starters, the man has previous experience at the SEC — so he can skip orientation and get right to business. Atkins worked on SEC staff from 1990 to 1994. Years later, he earned a promotion to one of the SEC’s five Commissioner seats and served from August 2002 to August 2008.

Outside the SEC, Atkins has also worked in Big Law for the prestigious Davis Polk & Wardwell, assisting corporations with mergers, acquisitions, and securities offerings. Atkins also helped with compliance and regulatory investigations.

Read more: Gary Gensler and SEC probed over alleged politically-biased hiring

Goodbye Gary Gensler, hello Paul Atkins

The incoming SEC chair has libertarian, pro-crypto stances on regulation. Atkins co-chaired the Token Alliance, an altcoin-friendly division of the Digital Chamber of Commerce involved in political communications. He also founded Potomak Global Partners, an advisory for digital finance companies.

Paul Atkins’ previous experience as an attorney includes a stint working in white collar disaster clean-up. The Bennett Funding Group was a billion-dollar leasing corporation that conducted one of the largest Ponzi schemes in US history. After it imploded, Atkins assisted the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee by overtaking Bennett’s sole surviving subsidiary as crisis president. There, Atkins was able to stabilize the subsidiary’s finances.

As a pro-crypto and libertarian-minded lawyer with decades of experience in Washington DC, Trump’s selection of Paul Atkins could boost hopes that the new White House administration will be friendlier toward digital assets.

Outgoing chair Gary Gensler made himself the enemy of the digital asset industry through regulation by enforcement, failing to prevent the FTX fiasco, and years of failing to name which crypto assets are and are not securities.

Despite being Trump’s current top pick for SEC leadership, reports indicate that Atkins has not yet accepted the appointment.

If Atkins declines, other top contenders for SEC chair include Hester Pierce, Brian Brooks, Chris Giancarlo, Heath Tarbert, and Dan Gallagher, among others. 

Paul Atkins was on Protos’ original list of likely successors of Gary Gensler, published November 7.

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