48 hours into the new chairman’s term, the SEC has become a crypto-daddy.

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On April 10, 2025, the SEC welcomed its new chairman, Paul Atkins, who was nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 52 to 44. The leader, who was nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 52 to 44, stated that he would make the establishment of a regulatory framework for digital assets his “top priority,” and promised to build a transparent SEC that would incorporate input from the industry and consumers, and radically change its past style of regulation from a closed, high-pressure one. Paul Atkins quickly became the focus of attention in the crypto industry, and in the first 48 hours of his term, there was a flurry of regulatory good news. Gary Gensler, the previous SEC chairman, withdrew a number of crypto-related lawsuits during his term of office, the SEC issued a statement urging the issuance of cryptocurrencies to disclose the details of their contents, and he personally came to the field to guide the project side on how to issue coins, so intensive actions also make people start to wonder: Trump’s SEC is going to be the crypto-industry’s “baby daddy”?
SEC’s New Chairman Takes Office, “Three Fires” Bringing Frequent Benefits

Paul Atkins is not a new face of the SEC, but also an old crypto player. He served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, where he gained extensive regulatory experience. Since then, he founded Patomak Global Partners, which advises financial and digital asset companies, including crypto exchanges and DeFi platforms, on compliance and risk strategies. He has also led the crypto advocacy group Token Alliance, which publicly supports digital asset innovation. It was disclosed that he and his spouse hold up to $6 million in crypto-related assets.

SEC Becomes ‘Crypto Daddy’ as New Chairman Takes Office for 48 Hours

On April 9, 2025, the Senate confirmed Atkins’ nomination with unanimous Republican support, marking a significant shift in the SEC’s pro-market orientation from the enforcement-first style of former Chairman Gary Gensler, who initiated more than 100 crypto-related enforcement actions during his tenure, emphasizing that the majority of tokens fall within the purview of the securities laws and being skeptical of the industry. Gensler, on the other hand, has advocated for the adoption of principles-based regulations. Atkins, on the other hand, has advocated for a principles-based regulatory framework that provides clear, workable rules for digital assets. At a March 28 Senate Banking Committee hearing, he made it clear that digital assets are the SEC’s top priority this year, pledging to work with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Congress to fill regulatory gaps and unleash U.S. global competitiveness in bitcoin and blockchain finance.

Atkins replaces Mark Uyeda, who has served as acting chairman since Gensler’s resignation in January.Uyeda’s brief tenure under Trump’s ‘crypto-friendly’ administration has already paved the way for the SEC’s transformation, such as dropping a number of crypto-related enforcement cases and repealing SAB 121, an internal rule that limited the trusteeship of cryptoassets for publicly traded companies.Atkins’s arrival on this job Atkins’ appointment accelerates the trend of regulatory deregulation, and his term of office, which runs through June 2026, is likely to drive significant changes to the crypto regulatory policy framework in a period of more than a year.

Atkins’ ‘first fire’ was to the financial markets, with Atkins’ pro-market stance providing a strong shot in the arm for the financialization of crypto assets. On his first day in office, April 10, the SEC approved options trading for spot Ether ETFs, a milestone that provides investors with more avenues for participation. Additionally, Atkins supported the simplification of private placement market rules, proposing that qualified investors be defined by financial sophistication rather than net worth, potentially further lowering the barriers to crypto investing.

The “second fire” gives regulatory guidance for the future. On its second day in office, the SEC issued a non-binding guidance, stating, “These offerings and registrations may relate to equity or debt securities of issuers associated with networks, applications, and/or crypto-assets. These offerings and registrations may also involve crypto-assets that are part of or subject to an investment contract (such crypto-assets are referred to as ‘underlying crypto-assets’).” Companies issuing or dealing with tokens that may be considered securities are urged to provide detailed disclosures, including what the business is, the role of the tokens, network development milestones, and the rights of token holders. While it is still not yet clear which cryptocurrencies are securities, it builds on the SEC’s observations of existing company disclosures in an attempt to provide a clearer frame of reference for the industry. Such detailed ‘downside guidance’ can also reflect the SEC’s shift from ‘punishment instead of regulation’ to ‘guidance instead of regulation’, hoping to reduce market uncertainty through communication and transparency, so that the industry does not wander over the edge of danger and have to try again and again.

The ‘third fire’ melts the ‘hard cases’ that have been frozen during Gary Gensler’s tenure, as the SEC shows a more lenient approach to past crypto litigation On April 11th, Nova Labs, developer of the Helium network, announced that the SEC had dropped charges against it for selling unregistered securities. Previously, the SEC had launched lawsuits against three of Nova Labs’ tokens – HNT, MOBILE, and IoT. With Atkins on board, the lawsuit quietly ended, setting a positive precedent for similar programs. On the same day, the SEC’s long-running lawsuit against Ripple was also settled, with the parties filing a joint motion to stay the appeal, Ripple paying a $50 million fine, and the remaining $75 million being returned to the company.

Additionally, in an effort to promote regulatory clarity, the SEC’s Cryptocurrency Working Group plans to hold four public roundtables between April and June 2025, covering topics such as crypto trading, escrow, asset tokenization, and DeFi. commissioner Hester Peirce has called this the “spring sprint to crypto clarity,” marking the SEC’s shift from confrontation to cooperation. The first session will focus on ‘Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Transactions’ on April 11, with subsequent sessions exploring the convergence of traditional finance and blockchain and DeFi and the American spirit.
“What else is in store for the ‘crypto nanny’?

Atkins’ intensive actions since taking office cannot be separated from the overall policy context of the Trump administration, which is highly aligned with crypto policy.

Since Trump returned to the White House, policies have been loosened frequently. First of all, the progress of crypto ETF approval is bright. ETF applications such as XRP and Solana, which were previously blocked due to Gensler’s hard-line attitude, have now been reviewed more leniently within the SEC, and the industry expects that a number of ETFs will be approved by 2025, significantly improving market liquidity. Second, the return of market makers such as Citadel Securities and Wintermute has contributed to the overall improvement of the market in terms of liquidity, trading efficiency and regulatory compliance. Meanwhile, stablecoin legislation is also advancing rapidly. Trump has repeatedly publicly supported stablecoins to increase demand for U.S. Treasuries, help the dollar’s digital hegemony, and consolidate the dollar’s global dominance. in April, the Senate Banking Committee passed the GENIUS Act, proposed by Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, to set licensing, reserve, and disclosure requirements for stablecoin issuance, and to provide a lightweight regulatory framework. atkins said the SEC would coordinate with the CFTC to clarify the securities versus commodities attributes of stablecoins and support state regulatory exemptions for stablecoins with a market capitalization of less than $10 billion to encourage innovation.

Not only that, but just today, Trump signed a bill repealing IRS broker rules for the DeFi platform, clearing the way for DeFi to grow. The rule, introduced in 2024, had classified DeFi platforms as brokers and required them to file tax forms for their users, sparking widespread industry discontent. In signing the bill, Trump said the rule ‘impedes American innovation’ and ‘invades the privacy of ordinary Americans’. This is the first cryptocurrency-related law signed by the Trump administration, and it can be seen once again that, from nominating a pro-market SEC chairman to repealing restrictive rules, the Trump administration is working hard to create a permissive environment for the digital asset industry, in an effort to establish the U.S. as a global digital financial center.

Under Trump’s leadership, the federal government seems to be developing a more relaxed crypto policy climate, and the SEC seems to be shifting from a ‘regulatory iron fist’ to a ‘crypto daddy’. With the approval of multiple crypto ETFs, the dismissal of years of litigation, the return of multiple market makers, and the repeal of the DeFi broker rule, the Trump administration has attempted to stimulate industry growth by reducing regulatory barriers. However, this policy shift has also raised some concerns. Senator Elizabeth Warren has criticized Atkins’ advisor connections to Wall Street and FTX, arguing that her background could compromise regulatory fairness. Critics also argue that overly lax regulation could lead to market disruption and even increased risk for investors.

It is important to strictly regulate the market, while at the same time taking care of the industry’s innovation and growth. In the future, it will take time to test whether this ‘crypto daddy’ can find a balance between innovation and protection, and achieve the global status of the U.S. digital asset market. It is foreseeable that with the support of the Trump administration, the SEC’s crypto policy will continue to be the focus of global attention, and the future of the U.S. digital asset market may be writing a new chapter from here.