New SEC Director Paul Atkins: Good news for the industry, but regulatory changes are a long-term battle

US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed cryptocurrency-friendly businessman and former SEC commissioner Paul Athlett as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
While the appointment of Paul Atkins is good news for the cryptocurrency industry, it may take some time before the desired changes are actually implemented.
The nomination of Atkins as SEC Chairman fulfills President Trump's promise to replace current Chairman Gary Gensler.
This is good news for the cryptocurrency industry. However, the expected changes may not come soon. Atkins served as president of the George W. Butler Foundation from July 2002 to August 2008.
During President Schumer's presidency, he served as a Republican SEC commissioner, where he took a stance in favor of innovation and investment and against excessive regulation.
In a speech at the 2007 Corporate Social Forum, he said, "The SEC has no right to exclude investors from the market through excessive regulation.
"We must not deprive them of the fruits of their investment through unreasonable orders," said Anderson PC, a US law firm.
According to the Atkins Lawsuit, Atkins is known for his emphasis on proportionality in enforcement actions.
He opposed imposing large fines on companies for the negligence of certain individuals, arguing that the focus should be on complex, detailed cases rather than simply prioritizing high enforcement volume.
Anderson's lawyers wrote that under his leadership, the SEC may be moving toward emphasizing substantive consequences rather than merely eye-catching penalties.
"The most useful thing about Atkins is that he's already close to current SEC officials," said Cody Carbone, president of the Digital Commerce Chamber of Commerce, on the Unchained podcast this week.
This includes current Republican SEC Commissioners Hester “Crypto Mom” Peirce and Mark Uyeda.
Trump has nominated Atkins to be the next SEC chairman, but the decision has not yet been finalized, and the House and Senate could reject the president's nomination.
However, depending on how quickly the Senate Financial Services Committee proceeds with its review of nominations to other departments and agencies, Atkins' nomination could be extended until March 2025.
The SEC currently has a five-member board structure. The current roster includes Republicans Pierce and Ueda, and Democrat
Party members Caroline Crenshaw, Gary Gensler, and Jaime Lizarraga
Gensler and Lizarraga announced their plans to leave the SEC in January.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Crenshaw, who is critical of cryptocurrencies and voted against approving a Bitcoin ETF, said:
Recently, the renomination vote was postponed indefinitely, leaving his role within the SEC unclear. When the new Trump administration takes office, the SEC will have a three-member board with a Republican majority.
Some have suggested that Trump could appoint a fourth Republican commissioner to replace Lizarraga, but this is still just speculation.