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Paul Atkins officially takes over as chairman of the US SEC: What does this mean for cryptocurrencies?
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Paul Atkins and his wife Sarah have assets worth more than $328 million. According to Bloomberg, Paul Atkins has become the richest US SEC chairman in decades.
Before Paul Atkins took over as chairman of the SEC, the commission has been busy with a number of cases initiated during Gensler's tenure. The investigation into Crypto.com has been dropped. The regulator has reached an agreement with Ripple, which means a multi-year lawsuit is coming to an end. Cases against Kraken, Tron, Consensys, Gemini, OpenSea, Coinbase, and Robinhood have also been closed.
Meanwhile, Hester Peirce, the mother of cryptocurrency, will lead a special task force focused on digital assets. The task force's top priorities include defining whether digital assets are securities, reviewing what does and does not fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. SEC, and providing clear guidance for lending and pledging. This means that one of the most important decisions facing Paul Atkins is whether to approve a series of exchange-traded funds that track the spot prices of small altcoins to join the ranks of existing ETFs on Wall Street, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
A series of applications have been delayed in recent months - indicating that SEC officials are trying to delay until a new chairman is appointed. Approval of funds focused on XRP and SOL is particularly significant because it could open the door to products that track a wide range of digital assets. There has been a lot of reaction to Paul Atkins' confirmation. Senator Cynthia Loomis of Wyoming said she believes his leadership will bring positive changes. Republican Frank Hill, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, hopes he can repeal the harmful, anti-consumer regulations introduced during Gensler's administration.
Although people believe that Paul Atkins' appointment will help cryptocurrency companies accelerate innovation and remove obstacles, he may not be able to bring the strong momentum that investors expect. The continued uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariff policy and the global economy, not to mention the worsening trade war, means that the many unfavorable factors facing Bitcoin are far beyond his control.
