President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that it intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Trump said Atkins, CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader in common sense regulation.”
“He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that respond to the needs of investors and provide capital to make our economy the best in the world. He also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are critical to making America greater than ever before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The commission oversees the US securities and investment markets.
If confirmed next year by the new Republican-led Senate, Atkins will replace Gary Gensler as the chairman of the commission. Gensler, who led the US government’s crackdown on the crypto industry, announced last month that he would step down on Trump’s inauguration, January 20, 2025.
Trump, once a cryptoskeptic, has vowed to make the U.S. “ crypto capital planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoins. Money poured in crypto assets since he won. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is now above $95,000.
Crypto industry players hailed Trump’s victory in hopes that he would advance legislative and regulatory changes they had long lobbied for.
Trump also launched World Liberty Financial, a a new enterprise trade cryptocurrencies with family members.
