During the House Appropriations Committee meeting, which supervises the funding of federal agencies, Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Democrat from Maryland, highlighted certain events preceding Trump’s January inauguration. He noted that Tron, a company owned by Sun, had purchased $30 million in tokens from World Liberty Financial—a DeFi company supposedly inspired by the former president.

Subsequently, the SEC decided to suspend its fraud lawsuit against Sun and his businesses, including Tron, effectively putting it on hold. Alongside this, a memecoin associated with Trump has been in circulation, and a special gala for the top 220 memecoin holders is planned for later this week. Sun declared his participation as one of these holders in a post on X early Tuesday. “Delighted to back @POTUS and thankful for the invitation from @GetTrumpMemes to attend President Trump’s Gala Dinner as his TOP fan!” Sun posted.

Ivey expressed concern over these events, stating, “This, in my opinion, reeks of impropriety. I would hope that the SEC is looking into this matter.” Atkins referred to Sun’s case as an “active case” and emphasized that the SEC does not classify memecoins as securities.

Atkins, appointed by Trump, has announced a “new day” for the SEC after the previous chair, Gary Gensler, adopted a less welcoming attitude towards the crypto industry. Gensler’s tenure saw a cautious approach to crypto and multiple charges against industry leaders. Many of these cases were later dismissed. Atkins declared in his prepared testimony that his approach to crypto regulation would be through notice and comment rulemaking rather than regulation through enforcement.

During the hearing, Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican from North Carolina, asked Atkins about the funding requirements of the SEC’s new crypto task force. Led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, the task force was established earlier this year by former acting chair Mark Uyeda with a mission to conduct industry roundtables and clarify application of securities laws to crypto. “I’m not entirely sure,” Atkins replied, “It’s staffed by current employees and Commissioner Peirce is leading it, so it doesn’t require any additional funding.”

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent news outlet that provides news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block operates independently and aims to deliver objective, timely, and impactful information about the crypto industry. This article is not meant as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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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.

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