What SEC chair nominee Paul Atkins has previously said about crypto

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

---

Crypto is “really exciting,” former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins said in a podcast interview last year. 

In that same interview, he noted that the FTX collapse just happened to occur in crypto but essentially, fraud is fraud. He compared Sam Bankman-Fried’s actions to Bernie Madoff’s. 

Aside from public appearances, it’s clear that Atkins — who, in case you somehow missed it, is officially President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to take over the SEC — is not only knowledgeable about crypto but has been active in the space for years.

On paper, Atkins looks pretty pro-crypto, but I was curious to get some idea of who Atkins is and what he’s like. Which, of course, could give some readthrough on how he’d lead the SEC if he were to take the helm — which, as my colleague Casey Wagner pointed out — won’t be for a while because he has to get through the nomination process. The deal’s not done yet, so temper your expectations. 

He’s been a part of Securitize’s advisory board since 2019, Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo told me. 

“He’s definitely going to bring a different attitude toward the space that is less about enforcement actions and litigation and more about figuring out what’s the right regulation for letting this industry flourish,” he continued. Domingo knew of Atkins from his SEC days and from his work as co-chair for the Token Alliance which was launched by the Chamber of Digital Commerce. 

Atkins, Domingo said, is likely going to be “less controversial” and he’s more likely to have “a dialog with the industry participants to figure things out … Not having this animosity toward the industry, but somebody can sit with people and understand, you know, what needs to be done, so that there is investor protection and there is a certain type of regulation, but at the same time, the industry can actually grow.”

In the Free the People podcast episode I mentioned above, Atkins said it was “too bad” that a lot of crypto companies “couldn’t comply” with the current rules “the way they’re written.” He also praised Hester Peirce, who he previously worked with. 

“If the SEC were more accommodating and would deal straightforwardly with these various firms, I think it would be a lot better” for crypto companies to work directly in the US instead of going overseas, Atkins said.

While Domingo’s sad to be losing Atkins as an adviser, the US is gaining a “really good” potential leader of the SEC, he said.

---

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

• The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
• 0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.