Crypto SEC Nominee Atkins Advances After Tight Senate Vote
President Trump’s pick for SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, has cleared a crucial hurdle!
Paul Atkins, President Trump’s nominee for the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has taken a significant step towards confirmation. On Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee gave him the thumbs up in a close 13-11 vote. This moves his nomination forward to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.
🚨NEW: @SECGov Chair nominee Paul Atkins has been voted through @BankingGOP Committee.
Next up in the process, his nomination will move on to the full Senate for a vote.
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) April 3, 2025
The committee vote fell along party lines, with all Democrats opposing the nomination. Despite this, it’s expected that the full Senate will confirm him, though likely by a narrow margin, given his stronger support there.
Interestingly, a number of Democrats weren’t present for the committee vote on April 3rd, and Senator Elizabeth Warren cast votes for those absent. This nomination process follows closely after the resignation of the previous SEC chairperson, Gary Gensler, on January 20th.
Leading up to the vote, Senator Tim Scott, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, expressed hope that confirming Atkins would bring much-needed clarity to the Commission regarding digital assets.
Since Gensler’s departure, Mark Uyeda has been serving as acting chairman during what can be seen as a transitional period. During his time as acting chair, the SEC established a cryptocurrency task force and initiated several enforcement actions against major players in the digital asset industry. Given Atkins’ prior experience as an SEC commissioner, it’s anticipated he will continue and expand on similar policy directions for the agency.
Atkin’s previous experience and stance on regulation
Atkins brings prior experience as an SEC commissioner, having served from 2002 to 2008 during the George W. Bush administration. Later, he established Patomak Global Partners, an independent financial services consultancy.
In a 2023 interview, Atkins suggested that U.S. regulations contributed to the collapse of FTX. He pointed out that the lack of clear and supportive guidelines for innovative financial platforms made their regulation challenging. It’s also worth noting that the Senate Banking Committee endorsed three other nominations alongside Atkins.
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