Paul Atkins, Donald Trump‘s designated SEC chairman, wants to create clear rules for cryptocurrencies. His goal: a stable regulatory foundation for digital assets. But his stance on other financial issues is causing controversy.
Paul Atkins, President Donald Trump’s nominee for chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), outlined his priorities in his Senate confirmation hearing. His primary goal is to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets.
Crypto Regulation as a “Top Priority”
“I have seen how unclear and nonexistent regulation of digital assets creates uncertainty in the market and stifles innovation,” Atkins stated in his opening remarks. He intends to work with the other SEC Commissioners and Congress to establish coherent and principled regulation of cryptocurrencies.
Atkins is no stranger to the agency: he served as a Commissioner at the SEC between 2002 and 2008. However, he emphasized that he hasn’t worked at the agency for nearly two decades and therefore cannot make any definitive statements regarding current investigations or personnel decisions.
No Political Influence?
Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks questioned whether Atkins would ensure that political influence from the White House or other government agencies would not influence SEC decisions. According to Atkins, these concerns are unfounded. He explained: “I think we should make the decisions as they are. I just don’t think there will be any if I’m chairman.”
He attempted to downplay his connection to “Project 2025,” a policy plan for a second Trump administration prepared by the conservative Heritage Foundation, saying he had only participated “in some phone calls.” He did not directly comment on specific proposals in the document, such as abolishing the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) or the financial market regulator Finra, and referred them to Congress.
Reluctance to Adopt New Market Regulations
Atkins showed little willingness to introduce stricter rules for private funds, even though their increasing access to retail investors is viewed critically. He argued that such funds are primarily reserved for wealthy, “accredited investors.” Furthermore, safeguards are already in place, such as diversification requirements in ETFs and mutual funds.
At the same time, he emphasized that the SEC would continue to take action against misleading or false statements made by fund managers: “If the statements are materially inaccurate, it’s actionable,” he explained in this context.
The End of ESG Investing?
Atkins also supported the long-standing Republican line of removing political factors from financial markets and corporate governance. “I want to keep politics out of the financial markets and out of the SEC’s interaction with the financial markets. Unfortunately, there have been some who have tried to use outside money to influence companies by distorting the corporate governance process,” he explained. “That will end, and we will put in place safeguards so that asset managers and others can focus on the real investment strategy and not on politics.”
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