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Donald Trump has appointed cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins as chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, prompting cheers across the financial industry as they hope for a more supportive regulatory climate under the incoming administration.
“Paul is a proven leader in common sense rules” Trump said a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. Atkins “also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are critical to making America greater than ever before.”
In another major business move, the president-elect also appointed Gail Slater, a top aide to Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, to head the Department of Justice antimonopoly department.
Atkins and Slater must be confirmed by the US Senate. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Industry members welcomed the appointment of Atkins, who held the position SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008 and later founded Patomak Global Partners, a risk management consultancy.
“We look forward to working with him to restore public confidence in the agency,” Chris Iacovella, president and chief executive officer of the American Securities Association, said in a statement.
The financial industry has had a volatile relationship with current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who has pursued a broad rulemaking agenda and tough enforcement stance, cracking down on traditional Wall Street players, as well as cryptocurrency enterprises.
Gensler has taken legal action against many of the biggest crypto companies and refused to develop regulations for digital assets, arguing that many tokens are securities and that existing laws are clear enough. He called the sector a “wild west” full of fraud and risk for investors.
Atkins is expected to take a friendlier approach to crypto. Last year, he said on a podcast that the disjointed web of financial regulation in the U.S. increases costs and risks creating regulations that stifle innovation.
Regarding crypto, Atkins said the SEC “has to be out there with an ear to the ground to . . . accommodate activities that are not criminal and then allow markets to flourish because if it challenges incumbents and helps lower costs for investors and people trying to raise capital, I mean that’s the reason why in we have financial markets.”
Crypto fans applauded the nominations. “The last four years under Gensler’s presidency have been a non-stop crusade against crypto,” said Christine Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association. “Paul Atkins offers a fresh perspective based on a deep understanding of the digital asset ecosystem.”
Atkins has also been critical of the US Auditor’s Office, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which regulates accounting firms and is overseen by the SEC. During his previous work at the SEC, Atkins pushed for cuts to the organization’s budget and opposed some of the rules it imposed on auditors.
Lynn Turner, a member of the PCAOB’s Investor Advisory Group, said the designation was perhaps the worst outcome for an observer “short of an atomic bomb hitting their building.”
If Atkins can pursue a lighter agenda, Slater is expected to maintain the tough antitrust stance championed by Biden-appointed progressive officials who have focused on Big Tech in particular.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Big Tech has “run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector,” while “using its market power to suppress the rights of many Americans, as well as the rights of Little Tech. !”
“I was proud to fight these abuses in my first term, and our Justice Department’s antitrust team will continue that work under Gale’s leadership,” he added.
Her nomination underscores Trump’s commitment to a new generation of Republican populists led by Vance. They seek to use antitrust laws to address pressing social issues, including free speech and the alleged censorship of conservative voices on online platforms.
The Financial Times previously reported that Slater was a the main contender to the Justice Department position currently held by Jonathan Kanter.
An Oxford-educated lawyer, Slater was an adviser to Julie Brill, a former Federal Trade Commission commissioner appointed by Barack Obama.
Additional reporting by Stephen Foley and Jennifer Hughes
