Sources: Golden Finance, SEC, Bloomberg, CoinTelegraph, Wikipedia; organized by Golden Finance.
Former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins has become the top candidate for the chair of the agency under President-elect Trump's new administration.
According to financial journalist Eleanor Terrett's post on X, Atkins is known for his supportive stance on innovation and expertise in cryptocurrencies, reportedly possessing the ability to 'restore the so-called gold standard' to the agency.
After Gary Gensler's resignation in January 2025, Atkins will become SEC chair, which means U.S. cryptocurrency regulation may help promote innovation instead of hindering it.
(Former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins)
1. Who is Atkins?
Atkins was born in Lillington, North Carolina, and raised in Tampa, Florida. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wofford College in 1980 and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Kappa Alpha Order.
Atkins's career began as a lawyer at the New York City law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he handled various corporate transactions for U.S. and foreign clients, including public and private securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He worked in the firm's Paris office for two and a half years and obtained his French legal advisor qualification in 1988.
Prior to being appointed as a commissioner, Atkins assisted financial services companies in improving compliance with SEC regulations and worked with law enforcement agencies to investigate and rectify situations where investors were harmed. The most notable case was Bennett Funding Group, Inc., a $1 billion leasing company that committed the largest Ponzi fraud case in U.S. history at the time. Over 20,000 investors lost most of their investments. According to Atkins's resume at the SEC, he assisted the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee for that company, serving as crisis president for Bennett's only surviving subsidiary. By stabilizing finances and operations and rebuilding and expanding the business, he increased the stock value for remaining investors by nearly 2000%.
From 1990 to 1994, Atkins served as a staff member to the first two SEC chairmen Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Under Chairman Breeden, he assisted in improving corporate governance regulations, enhancing shareholder communication, strengthening management accountability through proxy reforms, and lowering the barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises to enter the capital markets. Under Chairman Levitt, he was responsible for organizing the SEC's individual investor program, including town hall meetings for first-time investors and the SEC's Consumer Affairs Advisory Committee.
Atkins served as an SEC commissioner from July 9, 2002, until the end of his term in August 2008. He worked with Chairman Harvey Pitt, William H. Donaldson, and Christopher Cox.
In December 2016, Atkins participated in a business forum organized by President-elect Trump to provide strategic and policy advice on economic issues.
2. Atkins's image as a defender of digital assets.
Atkins served as a Republican SEC commissioner during the George W. Bush administration before founding Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm for major financial industry clients.
He is a staunch supporter of digital assets and fintech companies. He has also testified before Congress, discussing how to restructure the agency's operations and reduce what some industry insiders view as redundant or overly burdensome regulations.
The industry often criticizes the SEC under Gensler for making regulations through enforcement rather than clearly outlining how to comply with the rules, and this practice may change with Trump's return. He promised supporters that he would establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, appoint cryptocurrency-friendly regulators, and end the outgoing administration's 'anti-cryptocurrency campaign.'
Under the new leadership, the SEC is expected to continue to focus on what is viewed as fundamental tasks: eradicating fraud, combating insider trading, preventing Ponzi schemes, and curbing inaccurate, misleading, or overly exaggerated disclosures.
Atkins's leadership is expected to provide a more innovation-friendly environment for U.S. cryptocurrency regulation, potentially reversing what critics call the current SEC leadership's overreach.
3. The new direction of the Trump administration concerning cryptocurrencies.
Trump is considering transferring regulatory authority over cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency exchanges from the SEC to the CFTC. Under SEC regulation, Bitcoin is classified as a commodity; in the future, under CFTC leadership, Bitcoin will move towards a more innovative outlook. Previously, under former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo, the agency established an image of innovation advocacy when it approved Bitcoin as early as 2017. Giancarlo stated: 'With ample funding and the right leadership, I believe the CFTC can begin regulating digital commodities on day one of Trump's presidency.'
As of local time November 23, all cabinet nominees for Trump's new administration have been confirmed. In addition, Trump has nominated several high-level officials in the past few weeks. From the list of the new government, in addition to familiar names in the crypto market such as Musk and Howard Lutnick, several cabinet officials are staunch supporters of cryptocurrencies and have publicly disclosed their cryptocurrency holdings, including the nominated Vice President, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Director of National Intelligence.
Galaxy CEO Michael Novogratz stated in an interview with CNBC that nearly all of President-elect Trump's cabinet members hold Bitcoin and are staunch supporters of digital assets. He pointed out that these members support innovation, digital assets, and Bitcoin itself. Novogratz also mentioned that he would not be surprised if cryptocurrency prices rise further. The market is currently in a price discovery phase with limited supply.
For details, click on the Golden Finance article (A look at the possible cabinet members of Trump: Who are the crypto-friendly individuals?).
VanEck analysis suggests that given Trump's strong support for Bitcoin and focus on repatriation and supply chain issues, El Salvador could become a strategic partner for the U.S. in establishing a regional alliance.
4. Predictions on whether Trump's presidency will benefit the crypto industry.
Bullish voices:
Galaxy expects that trading activity in BlackRock's IBIT ETF options will remain active until January 2027, roughly halfway through Donald Trump's presidency. This concentrated long-term activity level reflects investors' confidence in the long-term growth potential of Bitcoin ETFs, suggesting bullish sentiment for the coming years.
Deenar co-founder Maruf Yusupov stated that Bitcoin's rapid rise after Trump's victory in the U.S. election may be reshaping traditional views on inflation hedging. Trump's focus on tax cuts, tariffs, and cryptocurrencies is driving interest in Bitcoin as a modern alternative to gold. With accelerated institutional adoption, a significant shift of capital from gold to digital assets may be observed. deVere Group CEO Nigel Green also noted that Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a tool for hedging against inflation and diversifying portfolios, with institutional interest reaching historic highs and the infrastructure supporting mass adoption continuously expanding. Copper.co research director Fadi Aboualfa expressed a similar view, emphasizing that the price movement patterns between spot Bitcoin and gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are becoming increasingly similar.
Sky Mavis co-founder Jeffrey Zirlin stated in an interview that blockchain gaming and DeFi may benefit the most from Trump's presidency. Additionally, Trump's election will reduce regulatory pressure on 'token design' and allow for radical new innovations and experiments.
Ripple Labs CEO: 'The crypto industry has embraced Trump; Trump has embraced the crypto industry. I think this is very sincere, and I believe he sees opportunities, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit – I am very excited about the future.'
QCP Capital stated in an official channel that given Bitcoin's strong upward trend since the U.S. election, it believes a target price of $100,000 to $120,000 may not be far off. The potential strength of BTC represents a systemic shift in the market in anticipation of Trump's return to the White House. His idea of initiating strategic BTC reserves and rotating from gold to BTC provides a strong bullish viewpoint that can sustain BTC price support.
Voices of critics:
Economist and Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff's criticism of President-elect Donald Trump's support for cryptocurrency plans has sparked new controversy. Schiff criticized the Trump administration for supporting Bitcoin, claiming it would weaken the U.S. economy. On Monday, Schiff posted on social media platform X: 'When the government picks winners and losers, it usually picks losers. Since the Trump administration chose Bitcoin, Wall Street is winning big, misallocating capital to Bitcoin and related value-destroying enterprises.'
The nonprofit cryptocurrency advocacy organization Coin Center warns that while Trump's victory is a net positive for the cryptocurrency industry, entrenched policies may still scare away cryptocurrency innovators from the U.S. Coin Center's research director Van Valkenburgh shared three 'serious threats' facing U.S. cryptocurrency users and developers beyond 2025. The first major threat comes from the cryptocurrency reporting requirements under U.S. tax code Section 6050I, which currently mandates that anyone receiving $10,000 in cryptocurrency must report it unconditionally to the IRS. Last August, Coin Center deemed these reporting requirements unconstitutional. The second and third major threats arise from sanctions against Tornado Cash, including criminal charges for unlicensed money transmission against the mixing service and Samourai Wallet. Coin Center stated that the charges against Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm could set a troubling precedent for developers of non-regulated crypto services.
