(Bloomberg) Citing sources familiar with the matter, reports indicate that President-elect Trump’s transition team will interview digital asset supporter Paul Atkins for the position of SEC chair, with Paul Atkins reportedly being Trump’s top choice for SEC chair.
Paul Atkins is a former SEC Commissioner and the founder and CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a global consulting firm focused on strategy, risk management, and compliance. Clients include cryptocurrency companies, traditional financial institutions, publicly traded companies, trade associations, law firms, banks, and insurance companies.
However, according to CoinDesk, a person familiar with Paul Atkins’ thoughts indicated that Atkins himself is not very interested in the position, primarily because he does not want to expend significant energy cleaning up the mess left by current chair Gary Gensler's mismanagement. Additionally, serving as SEC chair would require him to relinquish all business interests, but the current state of his company seems unable to operate well without his leadership.
Other candidates under consideration include cryptocurrency lawyer Teresa Goody Guillèn, former Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks, and former SEC General Counsel Robert Stebbins.
Despite numerous reports suggesting that Trump would officially nominate a successor for the SEC chair in the coming days, no formal nomination from Trump has been seen so far. If the Senate does not confirm the SEC chair nominee before January 20, Republican SEC Commissioner Uyeda may serve as the acting chair of the SEC after Gary Gensler steps down on inauguration day.
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