Since Paul Atkins was sworn in as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 21, 2025, the agency has significantly changed its stance on regulation and enforcement of digital assets, marking a departure from former Chairman Gary Gensler’s leadership during the Biden administration.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump made Gensler’s removal one of his promises to the crypto industry, along with creating a national Bitcoin (BTC) stockpile and opposing the issuance of a U.S. central bank digital currency.
His November 2024 election victory led to Gensler’s resignation in January 2025 and the appointment of SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chairman of the financial regulator until the Senate confirms Trump’s selection of Atkins to head the agency.
Even before the Senate voted to confirm Atkins, the SEC was already signaling a shift in cryptocurrency regulations and enforcement under the Trump administration. Uyeda oversaw the creation of the SEC’s Cryptocurrency Task Force, headed by Commissioner Hester Peirce, and the agency began to withdraw from civil enforcement actions and investigations of cryptocurrency companies, beginning with Coinbase in February.
During the first 12 months of Atkins’ presidency, the SEC pushed policies and regulatory approaches widely seen as beneficial to the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries.
In addition to ending enforcement actions, the regulator approved multiple exchange-traded funds tied to various crypto assets, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to coordinate regulation of digital assets, and issued an interpretive notice on not treating most cryptocurrencies as securities under federal law.
Related: A year after Gary Gensler’s departure, the SEC’s cryptocurrency playbook looks very different
“The year goes by quickly, but I think we have made great progress.” he said Atkins in a Monday interview with CNBC. “I promised a new day at the SEC when I came on board, and it has happened. We have moved away from the old practice of regulation through enforcement and agency opacity, as in the case of cryptocurrencies, for example.”
SEC chairman faces criticism from Democratic lawmakers
While many in the crypto industry have praised Atkins’ approach to digital assets since taking office, congressional Democrats have criticized the SEC and the chairman for potential conflicts of interest following the discontinuation of investigations and enforcement actions against companies linked to Trump and his family.
Last week, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren accused the SEC chair of misleading Congress during his testimony before a House committee in February. Warren said in an April 15 letter that the SEC’s own data for fiscal year 2025 showed the agency took fewer enforcement actions than at any time in the previous 10 years.
Warehouse: Adam Back says current demand is “almost” enough to push Bitcoin’s price to $1 million
