Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Wenser (@wenser2010)
Current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has not officially stepped down, but the competition for the new SEC chairman candidates has quietly begun.
On the evening of December 3, market news reported that Trump had nominated former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins as the next SEC chairman. The news stirred mixed reactions in the market: some investors immediately dug into the closely related stablecoin protocol Reserve Protocol and purchased RSR tokens; some media outlets stated the news could not be confirmed. The well-known 'millisecond news tracking' firm, Formula News, even had a translation blunder, misinterpreting Paul Atkins' 'hesitation to accept this position' as 'refusal to accept'; On-chain performance showed that the Meme coin project DJT supported by Reserve Protocol was the main target.
Amidst much debate, Odaily Planet Daily will summarize the 'News Trading related to the new SEC chairman' in this article.
Top candidate for the new SEC chairman: Paul Atkins is considered the 'most deserving'.
It is worth noting that Paul Atkins is not a nobody.
In a previous article ('Who will be the new SEC chairman after Gary Gensler?'), we briefly introduced him, noting that he is not only a former SEC commissioner but also a 'key Trump ally' and a staunch 'supporter of digital assets.'
As an SEC commissioner during the Bush administration, he was known for opposing 'high fines for companies violating securities laws'; previously, he expressed opposition to the Dodd-Frank Act, which strengthened federal regulatory powers after the 2008 financial crisis. Atkins played a key role in Trump's political transition team after he was elected president in 2016, significantly influencing Trump's laissez-faire attitude towards financial regulation.
Currently, Atkins still serves at his consulting firm Patomak Global Partners, which he founded in 2009. Meanwhile, since 2017, he has also served as co-chair of the industry association Token Alliance, which advocates for digital assets and the blockchain industry.
At that time, due to considerations of his existing position, the market did not view him as a hot candidate, but as November approached, the tide began to shift.
On November 27, FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett stated that according to two sources close to Mar-a-Lago discussions, former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins remains the most favored candidate among the top transition team members leading the SEC. He is not only well-versed in cryptocurrency technology but also has a deep understanding of the SEC's internal operations, having served as a commissioner and staff member under two SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Atkins is believed to be able to formulate an agenda that supports innovation while restoring the so-called 'gold standard,' which many Republicans believe has disappeared under the leadership of the outgoing chairman Gary Gensler.
On November 28, informed sources revealed that President-elect Trump's transition team had interviewed veteran financial regulators and conservative financial figure Paul Atkins as a candidate for SEC chairman. Sources said Atkins is the top contender to replace the outgoing Gary Gensler. The news was supported that day by renowned crypto-friendly lawyer John Deaton, who stated that 'if Atkins is appointed, he will lead the SEC towards a more balanced and transparent regulatory framework.'
Additionally, Paul Atkins' ascension is seen by the media as a signal that 'the U.S. SEC may ease its legal battles against cryptocurrency exchanges.'
When the news was finally released, the market performance could be described as a 'roller coaster drama'.
Even seasoned news traders can 'make mistakes': Formula News staged a dramatic performance.
At 1:14 AM Beijing time on December 4, crypto media Unchained announced that Trump had chosen Paul Atkins as the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
At 1:26 AM, well-known crypto source DB posted on the X platform citing the above news, further spreading the news that 'Paul Atkins is selected as SEC chairman.' Formula News quickly followed up. Subsequently, this news was confirmed by crypto source zoomer.
Upon the news, the related tokens RSR of the stablecoin protocol Reserve Protocol, where Paul Atkins serves as an advisor, surged by over 20%.
However, soon, as more media reports emerged, the market began to question and hesitate regarding Paul Atkins' 'identity storm'.
At 1:41 AM, well-known crypto source Watcher Guru posted on X platform: 'Unable to confirm the reports circulating in the market about Trump selecting Paul Atkins as SEC chairman. No official announcement from Trump.'
Original news
At 1:44 AM, Formula News reposted a message from zoomer citing Coindesk, but translated 'PAUL ATKINS HESITANT TO ACCEPT SEC CHAIR JOB' as 'Paul Atkins is unwilling to accept the position of chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission' (Note from Odaily Planet Daily: it is worth mentioning that the original translation by Formula was 'refusal'). Subsequently, they also reposted similar messages from DB, reaffirming Paul Atkins' hesitation to accept the SEC chairman position.
In response to this matter, many users criticized Formula News, suggesting it might have 'media manipulation of the market'. Subsequently, Formula News founder Vida responded multiple times to user comments on X platform, stating: 'DB ZOOMER is fully automated, with no time for manual screening.' 'Users can try using Google Translate on this text; Formula News uses API for full automatic translation, with no time for manual editing.' They even provided clarifications with Google Translate and ChatGPT translations.
Regardless, the market has begun to buy into the news that 'Paul Atkins is selected as the SEC chairman'.
According to Coingecko data, the RSR token is currently priced at $0.021, with a 24-hour increase of 68.5% and a market cap of $1.11 billion.
RSR Token Information
Additionally, at 1:43 AM, Formula News also released a message saying 'well-known trader GCR stated in a private Discord chat that he has sold his long position in RSR a long time ago.' This message has since been deleted.
On the other hand, according to The Data Nerd's monitoring, the well-known market maker GSR deposited a total of 280 million RSR (approximately $6.66 million) into Binance earlier today; within the past 24 hours, it deposited a total of 265 million RSR (approximately $10.82 million). According to on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, the market maker for RSR is GSR Markets. Excluding the recent exchange inflow operation, GSR has also been frequently trading RSR, influencing its price fluctuations.
Summary: Sell the News VS Buy the News
Looking at this dramatic farce, 'Whether Paul Atkins will ultimately succeed Gary Gensler as SEC chairman' remains undetermined, but the market competition surrounding this matter has reached a preliminary conclusion: market users voted with their feet and bought RSR tokens; Formula News played a less-than-glorious role as a 'market-manipulating news entity'; the on-chain Meme coin DJT also saw a certain increase.
But when it comes to the ultimate winner, perhaps it is none other than Reserve Protocol, after all, the market attention and token price increase, as well as the potential 'favorable conditions for Paul Atkins' ascension' are very real.
