<img src="https://crypto.news/app/uploads/2024/07/crypto-news-SEC-vs-nft-option03.webp” />
Paul Atkins, former commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is the favorite to become the regulatory agency's next chairman.
Atkins remains the leading candidate for the position Gary Gensler will vacate in January 2025, Eleanor Terrett told Fox Business. <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1861583715023102294″ target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>via x. The former SEC commissioner is highly regarded as a potential first choice for President-elect Donald Trump, who announced during his campaign that he would fire Gensler on the first day of his presidency.
The outgoing president of the SEC decided to resign and will do so on January 20.
Gensler's replacement could be the pro-innovation Atkins, who was commissioner of the securities watchdog between July 9, 2002 and August 2008. Atkins was a commissioner and a member of the agency's staff under two SEC chairmen: Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt.
According to Terrett, Mar-a-Lago sources say that the Trump transition team is headed by the former SEC commissioner, an expert in cryptocurrencies.
The idea is that Atkins will push the pro-innovation agenda that the Trump administration and the Republican Party are considering. For many, this is the next step after Gensler's largely negative four years. The SEC chairman and the commission pursued a widely criticized approach of regulation by enforcement.
Gensler's leadership also failed to provide any meaningful guidance for the industry. However, it accused several crypto companies and suffered several legal blows in US courts.
Cryptocurrencies rose sharply after Trump's victory. bitcoin (btc) rose to near $100k, while several altcoins, including XRP, continued to rise as the outgoing SEC chairman announced his resignation.
Also boosting markets have been reports that the Trump administration is looking to hire the first cryptocurrency czar in the US.
