The new SEC Chairman will also have to navigate a Washington merry-go-round in overdrive.
Grygo is the chief content officer for FTF & FTF News.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate confirmed Paul Atkins as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by a 52-to-44 vote that enables Atkins to finish the remainder of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s term, which expires June 5, 2026. (Atkins can stay onboard for up to 18 months beyond the expiration of his term.)
Atkins knows the territory as he served as an SEC Commissioner from August 2002 to August 2008, appointed by then-President George W. Bush.
“Before his appointment as commissioner, he assisted financial services firms in improving their compliance with SEC regulations and worked with law enforcement agencies to investigate and rectify situations where investors had been harmed,” according to his SEC biography. Also, in the early 1990s, he served “on the staff of two former chairmen of the SEC, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt, ultimately as executive assistant and counsellor, respectively.”
After his six years as a commissioner, Atkins became CEO of Patomak Global Partners, which offers business strategy, regulatory compliance, and litigation support for financial services firms. He led client work for firms “regarding an array of matters, including domestic financial services regulatory issues, new financial products, business strategy, and corporate governance,” according to Patomak. “Since 2017, Mr. Atkins has led industry efforts to develop best practices for digital asset issuances and trading platforms as co-chair of the Token Alliance.” He also served from 2012 to 2015 as an independent director and non-executive chairman of the board for the former BATS Global Markets, Inc., now part of Cboe.
For his new position, Atkins has been welcomed by SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda, SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, and SEC Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw. (Former SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga left in January.)
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham congratulated Atkins. “I have known and worked together with Paul and his team for over a decade,” Pham says. “His outstanding leadership is inspiring. I look forward to continuing to work together on smart regulation that drives U.S. economic growth and greater opportunity for the American people.”
Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., SIFMA president and CEO, also had praise. “He brings notable experience and knowledge to the role and SIFMA looks forward to working with him as Chairman to ensure our nation’s capital markets remain robust and resilient and play their part in fueling economic growth and job creation,” Bentsen says.
The self-regulatory organization (SRO) for U.S. broker-dealers, FINRA, issued a statement saying that it “stands ready to support Chairman Atkins’ efforts to bring smart, effective and appropriately tailored regulation to benefit all market participants.”
The U.S. Senate, securities industry, and regulatory approvals will allow Atkins to begin a new era for the SEC. At the outset of his term, it appears the keystone of his overhaul is likely to be a new attitude toward digital assets, including tokenization, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain-based operations. While he will be leading the digital asset charge, past experience with the SEC will serve him well as he changes course from the Gensler era. Peirce has been pushing for changes in digital assets regulation, and there are definitely going to be proposals that Atkins will have to shepherd through the regulatory bureaucracy, Congress, and the American public.
Paul Atkins
But Atkins will also have to navigate vexing issues and controversies, such as the recent request by six U.S. Senators, led by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, from Massachusetts. The letter addressed to Atkins asks him to “investigate potential violations of federal securities laws by President Trump and his affiliates.” The letter arrived two days after he was confirmed.
So, as the Washington merry-go-round goes into overdrive, a key challenge for Atkins (as it was for Gensler) will be in finding a way to forge ahead with a major change agenda while also having to duck frequent torpedoes.
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