Reports indicate that Paul Atkins is inching closer to securing the position as the new chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), potentially bringing a more crypto-friendly outlook to the role. Despite setbacks, a Senate committee hearing is reportedly slated for March 27.
Atkins was nominated by President Donald Trump on December 4 for the SEC chairmanship. However, his marriage into a billionaire family has reportedly led to complications with financial disclosures, causing a delay in his potential starting date.
Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chair Tim Scott is reportedly planning a hearing on March 27 to review Atkins’ candidacy, according to Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller in a March 17 post. The Senate banking committee is also expected to hold a bipartisan meeting regarding Atkins’ nomination on March 21.
The committee is yet to confirm whether it has Atkins’ paperwork, but this is the furthest the process has come. If successful, Atkins will still need to be voted in by the Senate at a later date.
Atkins served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008 and worked as a corporate lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in New York previously. He is anticipated to bring a more collaborative approach to crypto regulation compared to former SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda has led the organization since Gensler’s departure on January 20. Under Uyeda, the SEC has created a Crypto Task Force, led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, and repealed a controversial rule requiring crypto-holding financial firms to record them as liabilities on their balance sheets. The SEC has also dropped several investigations and lawsuits filed against crypto firms during Gensler’s tenure.
Since Atkins’ nomination by Trump on Dec. 4, almost four months have passed, and over two months since Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20. A delayed start for an SEC chair is not unprecedented, however, as seen with the two most recent SEC chairs, Gary Gensler and Jay Clayton, who started months after presidential transitions.
