With the arrival of the Trump 2.0 era, it feels as though the crypto market has had the “rollercoaster” button pressed—political developments constantly sway K-line movements. Amid the recent surge in market fear, the appointment of the new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sparked renewed hope for the cryptocurrency industry.

On April 10, the U.S. Senate confirmed Paul Atkins as SEC Chairman with a vote of 52 to 44. Nominated by President Trump, Atkins is known for his support of free market principles and innovation, standing in stark contrast to his predecessor, Gary Gensler’s hardline approach. More importantly, Atkins has deep and complex ties to the crypto industry and is widely seen as likely to adopt a more crypto-friendly stance.

As if to welcome this new regulator, the crypto market posted a rare rally on the day of his confirmation. As of April 16, Bitcoin rebounded from a low of around $74,500 to a peak of $86,500, before settling back to roughly $84,000. This article will take a deeper look into Paul Atkins, his professional background, connections to crypto, early moves as SEC Chairman, and the current regulatory landscape surrounding digital assets in the U.S., to help readers make sense of the shifting forces beneath the surface of the crypto market.

Who is Paul Atkins?

Paul Atkins does not come from a prominent background. He was born in Lillington, North Carolina, and grew up in Tampa, Florida. In 1980, Atkins earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wofford College and was a member of the prestigious academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa. In 1983, he received his Juris Doctor (JD) from Vanderbilt University Law School in Tennessee.

Source: theblock.co

After finishing his academic journey with distinction, Atkins began his professional career as a lawyer. Initially, he worked at the New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he primarily handled corporate transactions, including securities issuance and mergers and acquisitions. He was later assigned to the firm’s Paris office for two and a half years, and in 1988, he obtained legal advisor qualification in France. Upon returning to the U.S., Atkins focused on compliance for financial services firms and was deeply involved in the Bennett Funding Group, Inc. Ponzi scheme case. At the time, the SEC accused the company of fraudulently raising hundreds of millions of dollars, resulting in significant losses for over 20,000 investors. Atkins was appointed as the crisis CEO of the only surviving subsidiary of Bennett, where he rebuilt and expanded the business, ultimately increasing the remaining investors’ share value by nearly 2,000%. This event earned Atkins wide recognition.

In addition to his extensive experience in finance, Atkins has long-standing ties with the SEC. From 1990 to 1994, he served under two SEC chairmen—Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt—as chief of staff and advisor. He returned to the SEC in July 2002 when former President George W. Bush appointed him to serve as a Commissioner, a position he held until August 2008. During his term, Atkins advocated for transparency, consistency, and cost-efficiency within the SEC.

After leaving the SEC, Atkins took on a new role as an entrepreneur. In 2009, he founded Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm that provides risk, strategy, and compliance consulting services to clients, including banks, derivatives firms, and cryptocurrency companies. Notably, FTX was one of Patomak’s clients—the firm signed on as an advisor to the exchange in January 2022. According to Reuters, Patomak is currently valued between $25 million and $50 million.

Source: patomak.com/team

Additionally, from 2012 to 2015, Atkins served as an independent director and non-executive chairman of the board at BATS Global Markets, Inc., a global stock exchange operator that was acquired by CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange) in 2017.

Atkins and His Deep Crypto Roots

During his time at the SEC, Atkins consistently upheld a free-market philosophy. He believed that regulation should not scare off investors. When Trump nominated him in December of last year, he emphasized that “Atkins believes sound and innovative capital markets can meet investor needs and fund America’s continued economic leadership. He also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are vital to making America greater than ever before.”

It is under this open, innovation-friendly mindset that Atkins became deeply involved in the crypto industry.

In 2017, Atkins served as Co-Chair of the Token Alliance under the Chamber of Digital Commerce, focusing on developing industry standards. In 2020, he joined the Digital Chamber as a member of its advisory board.

According to Bloomberg, Atkins currently holds up to $6 million in crypto-related assets, including $1 million in equity from Anchorage Digital (a crypto custody firm) and Securitize (a tokenization platform), and approximately $5 million in equity in Off the Chain Capital, a crypto investment firm. Founded in 2016, Off the Chain Capital promotes a “no leverage, long-only” investment strategy, and its portfolio includes firms like PolyChain Capital, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Grayscale, Binance, and Kraken.

To avoid conflicts of interest, Atkins stepped down as a board member of Securitize in February and pledged to divest from Off the Chain Capital after his SEC appointment was confirmed. He also announced his resignation as CEO of Patomak and would sell related equity. At the same time, he resigned from roles at organizations like the Chamber of Digital Commerce.

Source: gate.io

Additionally, Atkins has strong ties to the stablecoin project Reserve Protocol, where he served as an early advisor. Interestingly, just before Atkins was nominated as SEC Chair in early December last year, Reserve Protocol’s token $RSR surged 200% in a single day.

Entering a Crypto-Friendly Era?

The formal appointment of Atkins as SEC Chairman is widely regarded as a significant positive development for the cryptocurrency industry. Compared to his predecessor Gary Gensler, who was skeptical of crypto and imposed strict regulations, Atkins’ leadership marks a major turning point in U.S. crypto regulation. His pro-crypto stance is expected to remove many obstacles to the industry’s growth and significantly boost the development of crypto assets.

Judging by recent developments, it seems that the “springtime” of the crypto industry is arriving faster than expected.

Atkins places a high emphasis on innovation and advocates for a regulatory framework with fewer restrictions—one that simplifies compliance while supporting innovation. In March this year, during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Atkins stated: “Establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets is a top priority for 2025. I will work with fellow commissioners and Congress to provide a solid regulatory foundation for digital assets through a rational, coherent, and principled approach.”

Atkins’ leadership is also bringing a fresh tone to the SEC. The agency has not only dropped several crypto-related enforcement actions but is now creating more opportunities for industry growth. For example:

• April 10: The SEC officially approved options trading for spot Ethereum ETFs. It also approved the listing of Bitwise Ethereum ETF, Grayscale Ethereum Trust, and Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust options on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Source: sec.gov/files)

• April 11: The SEC issued new non-binding guidance, advising crypto companies that issue or handle tokens potentially considered securities to provide detailed disclosures, such as business information, development milestones, and the role tokens play within the business.
• After concluding investigations into Coinbase, OpenSea, Robinhood, Uniswap, and Kraken, the SEC has now dropped its charges against Nova Labs (developer of Helium), the NFT project CyberKongz, and paused its appeal in the Ripple case. Additionally, the Binance case (originally filed in 2023 for violating federal securities laws) has been postponed for another 60 days.

These moves are not only a continuation of policy during the interim chairmanship of Mark Uyeda but also highlight a significant shift in the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation:

From tough to tolerant, from skeptical to supportive, from strict to relaxed.

Potential Opportunities and Challenges

Although the SEC is still unable to establish a clear and definitive compliance framework for the crypto industry, its inclusive and innovation-friendly stance is already encouraging. In addition to the SEC, another core U.S. regulatory body—the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)—has also shown a crypto-friendly attitude. Following the restructuring of its enforcement division to enhance efficiency and market integrity, the latest news indicates that the CFTC has ceased regulating the crypto industry through lawsuits.

Based on the actions and statements of the SEC, CFTC, and the Trump administration, we can anticipate that the U.S. crypto sector may demonstrate greater potential in the following areas:

1) Encouraging Innovation in DeFi and Other Sectors

On April 11, Trump officially signed the Congressional Review Act bill, repealing the so-called “DeFi Broker Rule” established by the Biden administration, which had been heavily criticized in the industry. This rule required DeFi platforms to report users’ transaction data to the IRS. As the first crypto-related bill signed by a U.S. president in history, it highlights the Trump administration’s support for DeFi and related innovations, opening broader development space for decentralized finance.

As a stakeholder, the Trump family’s crypto project WLFI (World Liberty Financial) is also committed to democratizing DeFi access. WLFI has raised $550 million through the sale of its token, $WLFI, and has partnered with several DeFi projects, accumulating various crypto assets, including $AAVE, $LINK, $ENA, and $ONDO.

2) Accelerating Stablecoin Legislation

On March 25, the WLFI project launched a USD stablecoin called USD1, custodied by BitGo and backed by U.S. Treasuries, dollar deposits, and cash equivalents, targeting both institutional and retail users. As of April 16, USD1 has issued more than 125 million tokens across BNBChain and Ethereum.

Behind the launch of USD1, the U.S. is actively advancing its regulatory framework for stablecoins. Two major legislative proposals are underway: the House’s STABLE Act (Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability Act) and the Senate’s GENIUS Act (Guiding Innovation in the U.S. Stablecoin Sector). One of these will eventually become law.

3) Promoting ETF Development

With the SEC’s regulatory stance softening, an “altcoin ETF season” may be on the horizon. While most approved crypto ETFs to date have focused on BTC and ETH, institutions like Grayscale, 21Shares, Osprey, and VanEck are submitting applications for ETFs based on other cryptocurrencies, such as SOL, XRP, DOGE, and ADA.

Although the SEC delayed a batch of spot crypto ETFs in mid-March, growing market demand suggests it’s only a matter of time before they’re approved. A wider range of crypto ETFs will significantly improve asset liquidity and drive mainstream adoption.

However, as the crypto sector gains clearer regulatory support, both Atkins himself and the easing of regulatory policy have sparked controversy:

• Atkins holds up to $6 million in crypto assets. While he has pledged to divest them promptly, potential conflicts of interest have raised concerns over regulatory impartiality. His personal financial ties could influence policy decisions and undermine the credibility of regulatory institutions.
• Furthermore, while the SEC, CFTC, and the Trump administration all favor empowering crypto innovation, overly relaxed regulation could create chaos—enabling fraud, manipulation, and jurisdictional overlap, which could lead to regulatory arbitrage and weaken consumer protections.
• Most importantly, regulators must strike a dynamic balance between fostering innovation and managing risks. On one hand, a predictable and well-designed policy framework can guide development and attract institutional capital. On the other, strict enforcement is needed to curb illegal activities that may arise during rapid growth. Defining clear boundaries between regulatory agencies is also essential to better protect consumer interests.

Conclusion

Overall, the appointment of Paul Atkins has injected fresh momentum into the struggling crypto industry. His pro-crypto stance, along with recent crypto-friendly signals from the SEC, CFTC, and the Trump administration, has created favorable conditions for the industry’s explosive growth. This shift in regulatory attitude could not only accelerate institutional capital inflows but also provide a clearer path forward for crypto firms, which have long been plagued by compliance issues.

However, the anticipated regulatory easing in the industry should still be approached with caution. Moderate policy support can indeed foster innovation and promote the application of blockchain technology across various sectors. However, overly relaxed regulation may also lead to a resurgence of speculation, which could significantly harm investor interests.

Therefore, finding a balance between encouraging innovation and managing risk remains a core challenge facing Atkins and his colleagues.-