SEC New Chairman Takes Office in 48 Hours
On April 10, 2025, the SEC welcomed its new chairman, Paul Atkins. This leader, nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 52 to 44, immediately expressed that establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets would be his “top priority.” He promised to create a transparent SEC that widely incorporates industry and consumer opinions, fundamentally changing the previous closed and high-pressure regulatory style.
Paul Atkins quickly became the focus of attention in the cryptocurrency industry. In the 48 hours since taking office, a series of favorable regulatory actions have followed. The SEC has withdrawn multiple crypto-related lawsuits initiated during the tenure of former SEC chairman Gary Gensler, issued statements urging detailed disclosures when issuing cryptocurrencies, and personally guided project teams on how to issue tokens. Such a concentrated effort has led people to wonder: Is Trump’s SEC going to become the “nanny” of the crypto industry?
New SEC Chairman’s ‘Three Fires’ Bring Frequent Good News
Paul Atkins is not a new face at the SEC; he is also an old player in the crypto space. From 2002 to 2008, he served as an SEC commissioner, accumulating rich regulatory experience. He later founded Patomak Global Partners, providing compliance and risk strategy consulting for financial and digital asset companies, including crypto exchanges and DeFi platforms. He also led the crypto advocacy organization Token Alliance, publicly supporting digital asset innovation. It has been disclosed that he and his spouse hold crypto-related assets worth up to $6 million.
On April 9, 2025, the Senate confirmed Atkins’ nomination with unanimous support from Republicans, marking a significant shift in the SEC’s style from the enforcement priorities of former chairman Gary Gensler to a more market-friendly approach. During Gensler’s tenure, over 100 crypto-related enforcement actions were initiated, emphasizing that most tokens fall under the jurisdiction of securities laws and maintaining a skeptical stance toward the industry. In contrast, Atkins advocates for a principles-based regulatory framework that provides clear and actionable rules for digital assets.
At the Senate Banking Committee hearing on March 28, he made it clear that digital assets would be the SEC’s top priority this year, promising to work with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Congress to fill regulatory gaps and enhance the U.S. global competitiveness in Bitcoin and blockchain finance.
Atkins succeeded Mark Uyeda, who served as acting chairman after Gensler’s resignation in January. Under Trump’s “crypto-friendly” government, Uyeda’s brief tenure laid the groundwork for the SEC’s transformation, such as withdrawing multiple crypto-related enforcement cases and eliminating internal rules (SAB 121) that restricted the custody of crypto assets by listed companies. Atkins’ assumption of office has accelerated the trend toward regulatory loosening, and his term will last until June 2026, potentially leading to significant changes in the crypto regulatory policy framework over the more than one year period.
Atkins’ “first fire” points toward the financial markets. His market-friendly stance provides a boost to the financialization of crypto assets. On his first day in office, April 10, the SEC approved options trading for spot Ethereum ETFs, a milestone that offers investors more avenues for participation.
Additionally, Atkins supports simplifying private market rules and has proposed defining accredited investors based on financial sophistication rather than net worth, which could further lower the barriers to crypto investment.
The “second fire” provided future regulatory guidance. On the second day of his tenure, the SEC issued a non-binding guidance statement, indicating that “these issuances and registrations may involve equity or debt securities of issuers related to the network, applications, and/or crypto assets. These issuances and registrations may also involve crypto assets that are part of or bound by investment contracts (such crypto assets are referred to as ‘underlying crypto assets’).” Companies issuing or handling tokens that may be considered securities were urged to provide detailed disclosures, including business content, token roles, network development milestones, and the rights of token holders.
While it still remains unclear which cryptocurrencies qualify as securities, the guidance attempts to provide the industry with a clearer reference framework based on the SEC’s observations of existing company disclosures. Such detailed “on-the-ground guidance” also reflects the SEC’s shift from “penalizing regulation” to “guidance-based regulation,” aiming to reduce market uncertainty through communication and transparency, preventing the industry from navigating dangerously on the edge, and instead allowing it to explore more safely.
The “third fire” melted the “difficult cases” frozen during Gary Gensler’s tenure, as the SEC exhibited a more lenient attitude towards past crypto lawsuits. On April 11, Helium network developer Nova Labs announced that the SEC had withdrawn its charges of selling unregistered securities. Previously, the SEC had initiated lawsuits against Nova Labs regarding three tokens—HNT, MOBILE, and IoT. With Atkins’ assumption of office, this litigation quietly came to an end, setting a positive precedent for similar projects. On the same day, the SEC also reached a settlement in its long-running lawsuit with Ripple, with both parties submitting a joint motion to pause the appeal, Ripple paying a $50 million fine, and the remaining $75 million being returned to the company.
Furthermore, to promote regulatory clarity, the SEC’s cryptocurrency working group plans to hold four public roundtable discussions from April to June 2025, covering topics such as crypto trading, custody, asset tokenization, and DeFi. Commissioner Hester Peirce referred to this as a “spring sprint towards crypto clarity,” marking the SEC’s shift from confrontation to collaboration. The first meeting on April 11 will focus on “tailored regulation for crypto trading,” while subsequent meetings will explore the integration of traditional finance with blockchain and the relationship between DeFi and the American spirit.
What Other Tricks Does the ‘Crypto Nanny’ Have?
Atkins’ intensive actions after taking office align closely with the overall policy backdrop of the Trump administration, which has been highly conducive to crypto policy. After Trump returned to the White House, policies have frequently loosened.
First, the approval process for crypto ETFs has shown promising progress. Previously blocked by Gensler’s tough stance, applications for ETFs related to XRP and Solana have now received a more lenient review within the SEC, with expectations that multiple ETFs will be approved in 2025, significantly enhancing market liquidity.
Secondly, market makers such as Citadel Securities and Wintermute have returned, promoting improvements across dimensions such as liquidity, trading efficiency, and regulatory compliance.
At the same time, stablecoin legislation is advancing rapidly. Trump has publicly supported stablecoins multiple times to increase demand for U.S. debt, bolster the dollar’s digital hegemony, and solidify the dollar’s global dominance. In April, the Senate Banking Committee passed the “GENIUS Act,” proposed by Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, which sets permission, reserve, and disclosure requirements for stablecoin issuance, providing a lightweight regulatory framework.
Atkins stated that the SEC will coordinate with the CFTC to clarify the securities and commodities characteristics of stablecoins and support state-level regulatory exemptions for stablecoins with a market capitalization below $10 billion, encouraging innovation.
Moreover, just today, Trump signed a bill abolishing the IRS’s broker rules for DeFi platforms, clearing obstacles for DeFi development. This rule, set to take effect in 2024, had classified DeFi platforms as brokers, requiring them to submit tax forms for users, which sparked widespread discontent within the industry. Trump stated upon signing the bill that this rule “hindered innovation in America” and “violated the privacy of ordinary Americans.” This is the first cryptocurrency-related law signed by the Trump administration, further demonstrating that from nominating a pro-market SEC chairman to abolishing restrictive rules, the Trump administration is striving to create a favorable environment for the digital asset industry, aiming to position the U.S. as a global digital financial hub.
Under Trump’s leadership, the federal government seems to be cultivating a more lenient atmosphere for crypto policy, with the SEC appearing to shift from “regulatory iron fist” to “crypto nanny.” Multiple crypto ETFs approved, years of lawsuits withdrawn, market makers returning, and the abolition of DeFi broker rules are all efforts by the Trump administration to stimulate industry growth by reducing regulatory barriers.
However, this policy shift has also raised some concerns. Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Atkins for his connections with Wall Street and FTX advisors, believing his background could undermine regulatory fairness. Critics also argue that overly loose regulation could lead to market chaos and even increase investor risks.
Striking a balance between strict market order regulation and nurturing industry innovation and growth will be a challenge for the “crypto nanny.” Whether he can find equilibrium between innovation and protection to elevate the U.S. digital asset market’s global standing remains to be seen.
It is foreseeable that under the support of the Trump administration, the SEC’s crypto policy will continue to attract global attention, and the future of the U.S. digital asset market may be starting to write a new chapter from here.
This article is collaboratively republished from: ShenChao