Paul Atkins closes in on SEC chair function amid setbacks: Report

Paul Atkins may transfer one step nearer to turning into the US Securities and Change Fee’s new crypto-friendly chair, with a Senate committee listening to reportedly within the works for March 27.

President Donald Trump nominated Atkins to guide the SEC on Dec. 4, however his marriage right into a billionaire household has reportedly brought on complications with monetary disclosures — delaying his potential begin date.

Whereas it isn’t clear whether or not the White Home has produced these papers to the Senate, Senate Banking, Home and City Affairs Chair Tim Scott is reportedly eyeing a March 27 listening to to evaluate Atkins’ standing, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller said in a March 17 X put up.

“No readability but on whether or not the committee has Atkins’ paperwork in hand, however both method, that is probably the most momentum we’ve seen to date.”

Atkins would, nonetheless, should be voted in by the Senate at a later date.

Mueller additionally mentioned the Senate banking committee can be planning to carry a bipartisan assembly on Atkins’ nomination on March 21.

It follows an earlier March 3 Semafor report, the place Mueller mentioned monetary disclosures had held Atkins again from scheduling a Senate listening to to evaluate his standing.

His spouse’s household is tied to TAMKO Constructing Merchandise LLC — a producer of residential roofing shingles that reportedly turned over $1.2 billion in income in 2023, Forbes said on Dec. 14, 2024.

“It’s loads to undergo,” one former Senate Banking Committee staffer reportedly instructed Mueller on March 3.

“However he received named so early on, so I feel that’s why persons are beginning to be like, ‘What the hell’s taking so lengthy?’” 

Atkins beforehand served as an SEC commissioner between 2002 and 2008 and labored as a company lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in New York earlier than that. He's anticipated to control the crypto area with a extra collaborative method than former SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

It’s been virtually 4 months since Atkins was chosen by Trump to guide the SEC on Dec. 4, and over two months since Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20.

A late begin for an SEC chair wouldn’t be too uncommon, nonetheless.

The 2 most up-to-date SEC chairs, Gary Gensler and Jay Clayton, began on April 17, 2021, and Could 4, 2017 — months after presidential transitions occurred in these years.

Associated: SEC’s enforcement case against Ripple may be wrapping up

In the meantime, Mark Uyeda has been serving because the SEC’s appearing chair since Gensler left on Jan. 20.

Since then, the Uyeda-led SEC has established a Crypto Task Force led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and canceled a controversial rule that requested monetary corporations holding crypto to report them as liabilities on their stability sheets.

The SEC has dropped a number of investigations and lawsuits that the Gensler-led fee filed towards the likes of Coinbase, Consensys, Robinhood, Gemini, Uniswap and OpenSea over the past month.

The SEC can be seeking to abandon a rule requiring crypto firms to register as exchanges and should even axe the Biden administration’s proposed crypto custody guidelines, Uyeda mentioned on March 17.

Journal: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered