Trump picks crypto-friendly lawyer Paul Atkins for SEC chair
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Paul Atkins, a crypto-friendly lawyer and financial advisor, to serve as the next chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Atkins is currently CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a financial consulting firm, and previously served as an SEC commissioner under former President George W. Bush. Trump announced the nomination on his social-media site, Truth Social, part of Trump Media & Technology Group .
Trump has positioned himself as a staunch ally of the crypto industry. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, dogecoin, and ethereum have rallied since Trump won a second term in November.
Trump noted that Atkins “recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.” Atkins is co-chair of the Token Alliance, a part of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, which provides compliance assistance for crypto-trading platforms.
Gary Gensler, the current chair of the SEC, has been more hostile toward the crypto industry and said he would resign in January.