Senate hearing for crypto-friendly SEC Chair nominee Paul Atkins scheduled for March 27
Quick Take
- President Trump in early December tapped Atkins to lead the SEC under his administration.
- Gary Gensler stepped down from the position on Jan. 20, and the SEC has been led by acting chair Mark Uyeda.
At long last, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will undergo a hearing from the U.S. Senate.
The Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs will meet on Thursday, March 27, to question Paul Atkins, as well as Jonathan Gould (Comptroller of the Currency) and Luke Pettit (Assistant Secretary of the Treasury).
Trump tapped Atkins, a long-time crypto supporter, back on Dec. 4 to lead the SEC under his administration. Former Chairman Gary Gensler stepped down from the position on Jan. 20, and the SEC has been led by Acting Chair Mark Uyeda. Atkins was previously appointed by former President George W. Bush as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008.
Atkins' hearing had been delayed due to pending financial disclosure paperwork. Atkins’ financial disclosure likely had a "heavy lift" given his marriage into a billionaire family, Semafor reported earlier this month.
Atkins founded the consulting firm Patomak Global Partners in 2009, whose clients included crypto exchanges and DeFi platforms. He also joined The Digital Chamber's board of advisers in 2020.
A crypto task force, led by Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, was launched last month and among other priorities has been working on distinguishing which "crypto assets" are securities.
Over the past month, the agency has rescinded controversial crypto accounting guidance and dropped cases against Coinbase, OpenSea, XRP and UniSwap, among others. Notably, there are also at least 60 spot crypto ETF proposals waiting for review.
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