President-elect Donald Trump has nominated pro-crypto Paul Atkins to replace Gary Gensler as the new chief of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In a Dec. 4 announcement, Trump highlighted Atkins’ track record and experience as a former SEC commissioner. Trump wrote via Truth Social:
“Paul is the CEO and Founder of Patomak Global Partners, a risk management consultancy. As Co-Chairman of the Digital Chamber’s Token Alliance since 2017, he has worked on and studied the digital assets industry.”
“A former SEC Commissioner from 2002-2008, Paul strongly advocated for transparency and protecting investors,” Trump continued.
The nomination of a pro-crypto SEC commissioner to replace Gensler was one of Trump’s promises to crypto voters during his campaign and a highlight of his keynote address at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
Despite threats of removal, Gary Gensler doubled down on his anti-crypto rhetoric in November before finally tendering his resignation on Nov. 21.
Source: Donald Trump
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Industry reacts to Gensler’s departure
Following news of Gensler’s voluntary resignation and the results of the 2024 US presidential election, crypto markets began pumping. Analysts expect an altcoin rally to continue into 2025 as Gensler leaves office on Jan. 20.
Filings for a Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund (ETF) surged after Gensler’s resignation announcement, with Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares and Canary Capital all submitting applications to the SEC.
Pantera’s chief legal officer, Katrina Paglia, also said that the SEC’s lawsuits against cryptocurrency firms and blockchain projects would “quietly go away” after new leadership is installed at the SEC.
It is estimated that the SEC, under Gensler’s leadership, cost crypto firms $426 million in legal fees to combat the agency’s targeting of the industry.
According to the Blockchain Association, the SEC initiated 104 lawsuits against industry firms between 2021 and 2023 despite industry executives repeatedly petitioning the SEC for clear crypto regulation. “The time of law-fare against our industry must end,” the Blockchain Association wrote in Oct. 2024.
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