The US Senate voted for approving Paul Atkins, the chairman of the Commission on Securities and Exchange (SECs).
52 senators spoke in support, 44 members of the chamber voted against, four did not take part in the procedure.
President Donald Trump nominated Atkins to the post of SEC head in December 2024. Many participants in the crypto industry considered him a suitable candidate, given the experience in the industry.
Atkins held the post of Commissioner SEC from 2002 to 2008, and later founded the Consulting company Patomak Global Partners, among whose customers were crypto accounts and Defi projects.
At the end of March, Atkins approved the Senate banking committee. Before the hearing, journalists found that the potential head of the regulator owns shares in three crypto companies: Securitize, Anchorage Digital and Off the Chain Capital.
During the discussion, some Democratic senators criticized Atkins due to connections with the collapsed FTX exchange. According to the media, Patomak Global Partners at the beginning of 2022 signed a contract for the provision of consulting services from the crypto platform.
In November 2022, FTX filed for bankruptcy. The co-founder and general director of the Exchange Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty of seven criminal offenses. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Senator Republican Tim Scott at the hearing expressed the hope that under Atkins, “SEC will return to his main mission and ensure that our markets remain the subject of envy of the whole world.”
The previous head of the department, Gary Gensler, resigned on January 20 and returned as a professor to the Sloan Management School at the Massachusetts Technological Institute.
The acting chairman of the department temporarily became Mark Ueda. Under his leadership, the SEC created a target group in cryptocurrencies led by Hester Pierce. The commission stopped investigations and trials against a number of industry companies, and also softened the position on the regulation of digital assets and Defi services.
The ugg ordered to revise a number of previous statements by SEC employees about cryptocurrencies that should be “changed or canceled in accordance with the current agency’s priorities”.
Be in the know! Subscribe to Telegram.
Source: Cryptocurrency
I am an experienced journalist and writer with a career in the news industry. My focus is on covering Top News stories for World Stock Market, where I provide comprehensive analysis and commentary on markets around the world. I have expertise in writing both long-form articles and shorter pieces that deliver timely, relevant updates to readers.
