Since Paul Atkins was sworn in as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 21, 2025, the agency has shifted its stance on digital-asset oversight and enforcement, departing from the approach taken under former chair Gary Gensler during the Biden administration.
During his 2024 campaign, President Trump promised the crypto industry he would remove Gensler, build a national Bitcoin stockpile and oppose a U.S. central bank digital currency. Trump’s November 2024 victory led to Gensler’s January 2025 resignation and the appointment of SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair until the Senate confirmed Atkins.
Even before Atkins’ confirmation, the SEC signaled a new direction. Uyeda established a crypto task force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, and the agency began winding down civil enforcement actions and investigations into crypto firms, starting with Coinbase in February 2025.
In his first year, Atkins has overseen policies widely seen as friendlier to the crypto and blockchain industry. The SEC has concluded or dropped several enforcement matters, approved multiple exchange-traded funds tied to crypto assets, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to coordinate on digital-asset oversight, and issued an interpretive notice stating that most cryptocurrencies should not be treated as securities under federal law.
“A year goes by quickly, but we’ve made huge progress, I think,” Atkins said in a CNBC interview. “I promised a new day at the SEC when I came aboard, and we have. We’ve pivoted from the old practice of regulation through enforcement and the opaqueness of the agency, as, for example, with crypto.”
Not everyone has welcomed the shift. Congressional Democrats have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest after investigations and enforcement actions involving companies tied to President Trump and his family were dropped. Senator Elizabeth Warren recently accused Atkins of potentially misleading Congress during February testimony, citing SEC data that showed the agency pursued fewer enforcement actions in fiscal 2025 than at any point in the previous decade.
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