SEC Chair Paul Atkins Reveals Categorical Shift For Crypto in the US

If there was any doubt remaining that a new dawn for crypto in America is finally here, new SEC Chair Paul Atkins just officially stamped it: It's a "new day" at the agency.

Delivering an extended policy speech for the first time at a crypto roundtable, Chair Atkins laid out a stunning step-by-step agenda to completely undo every anti-crypto misstep carried out by his predecessor with a new plan to finally provide regulatory clarity.

"It is a new day at the SEC. Policy making will no longer result from ad-hoc enforcement actions. Instead, the Commission will utilize its existing rule making, interpretative and exemptive authorities to set fit-for-purpose standards for market participants," Chair Atkins said Monday at a crypto roundtable on tokenization.

Since assuming his role a couple weeks ago, Chair Atkins has taken a few opportunities to make it clear he intends to deliver on President Trump's campaign desire to establish the US as the crypto capital of the planet. Crypto Task Force Head and Commissioner Hester Peirce told Coinage recently that the Trump admin is extremely interested in moving quickly to get that done. Chair Atkins' speech just threw an exclamation point on all that.

What stood out was not only an admission of the failures of the SEC's prior approach, but a systematic preview of exactly what the SEC will seek first to rubber stamp the rules of the road for crypto.

"In the past few years, the SEC first pursued what I call the “head-in-the-sand” approach – perhaps hoping that crypto would go away," Atkins said. "Then, it pivoted and pursued a shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later approach of regulation through enforcement."

While the speech largely echoed some of the calls for experimentation from "crypto mom" Hester Peirce, Chair Atkins seemingly endorsed those plans on the record.

"I believe that the Commission has broad discretion under the securities acts to accommodate the crypto industry, and I intend to get it done," he said. Chair Atkins also revealed his most pressing areas of focus to provide clarity for crypto builders, including issuance, custody, and trading.

"I am eager to coordinate with colleagues in President Trump’s Administration and Congress to make the United States the best place in the world to participate in crypto asset markets," he said.

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