President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly picked pro-crypto Paul Atkins as the new chair for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to three sources familiar with the matter.
This comes as the current chair Gary Gensler indicated he was stepping down from office effective January 20, when Trump will be inaugurated.
Trump approached Paul Atkins who is yet to respond
One of the sources revealed that President Trump approached Atkins on the matter. However, Atkins is reportedly reluctant to take up the job.
If the selection is confirmed, the President-elect will have delivered on his election promise to the crypto community.
The current chair has been deemed a pariah in the crypto industry as he made his tenure a time for policy regulation and enforcement.
Atkinson can enter office in two ways either by being confirmed by the Senate or if the President-elect chooses to exercise the recession appointment option while Senate is out of session.
However, CoinDesk reports that Atkins is reluctant to take the job and a lot of stars would need to align for him to accept the offer.
The report said it is an unattractive role for Atkins because of the work needed to put the SEC back on track as he believes the incumbent chair has mismanaged the agency.
The reluctance to clean up the mess has been said by former Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Chris Giancarlo, who has tipped Atkins for the role he was once considered a candidate.
Respected in the Republican party and conservative legal circles, Atkins served as SEC chair during President George W. Bush’s era and has been a crypto advocate since leaving office.
*TRUMP PICKS PAUL ATKINS FOR SEC CHAIR, UNCHAINED CRYPTO REPORTS
Source: DB
— db (@tier10k) December 3, 2024
Paul Atkins has remained supportive of crypto industry
He has become publicly supportive of the industry, having been a co-chair at the Token Alliance at the industry group Digital Chamber of Commerce since 2017.
According to CoinDesk Atkins is said to be reluctant to leave his consultancy practice at his firm Patomak Global Partners. He would then be tasked with resigning from his business interests, which he may only do once his firm is well positioned to operate without him, according to sources.
The SEC chair candidate has since 2009 been advising digital finance companies on regulatory compliance.
George Mason University professor J.W Verret who earlier in November served on the SEC Advisory Committee said Atkins was a well-respected man by Senate Republicans.
“The tradition of Commissioner Paul Atkins is really respected by Senate Republicans. He was the first time anyone had been a true libertarian and SEC commissioner, and that was a unique thing.”
Mason.
The news of Atkins being tapped for SEC chair did not come as a surprise after he was spotted at Mar-A-Lago resort this week.
Calls were made two weeks ago to crypto industry leaders by the team vetting candidates for the chairperson position to hear their preferred names to head the regulatory board. The current nomination is seen as a direct demonstration of how the incumbent is unpopular within the industry.
Gensler has faced criticism for not setting up clear guidelines and rules for the crypto industry. Under his stewardship, the SEC instead went for a number of enforcement actions against crypto companies and protocols, including exchanges, token issuers, and NFT creators for failing to register with the agency or disclose their work with what the SEC claimed were unregistered securities offerings.
According to The Block, other SEC chair role contenders included Robinhood executive Dan Gallagher, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallgher Robert Stebbins, partner at BakerHostetler law firm, and former litigation counsel for the SEC Teresa Goody Guilden. Gallagher on November 22 however said that he did not want the role.
From Zero to Web3 Pro: Your 90-Day Career Launch Plan
