What SEC chair nominee Paul Atkins has previously said about crypto

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Crypto is “actually thrilling,” former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins mentioned in a podcast interview final yr.

In that very same interview, he famous that the FTX collapse occurred to occur in crypto, however at its core, fraud is fraud. He in contrast Sam Bankman-Fried’s actions to these of Bernie Madoff.

Public appearances apart, it is clear that Atkins — who, in case you someway missed it, is formally President-elect Donald Trump’s option to take over the SEC — does not simply know crypto , however has additionally been energetic in house for years.

On paper, Atkins appears to be like fairly pro-crypto, however I used to be curious to get a really feel for it WHO Atkins is and the way he’s. Which, after all, may present some perception into how he would run the SEC if he have been to take over — which, as my colleague Casey Wagner famous — will not occur for some time as he must get by means of the nomination. course of. The deal is not executed but, so mood your expectations.

He has been a part of Securitize’s advisory board since 2019, mentioned Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize.

“He is actually going to convey a special perspective to house that’s much less about enforcement actions and lawsuits and extra about determining what the correct laws are for this trade to thrive,” he continued. Domingo knew Atkins from his SEC days and from his work as co-chair of the Token Alliance, which was launched by the Chamber of Digital Commerce.

Domingo mentioned Atkins will probably be “much less controversial” and that he’ll probably “have a dialogue with trade members to determine issues out… With out this animosity towards the trade, however somebody can sit with the individuals and perceive, you figuring out what must be executed so that there’s safety for buyers and there may be some type of regulation, however on the identical time the sector can truly develop.”

Within the Free the Folks podcast episode I discussed above, Atkins mentioned it was “unlucky” that many crypto firms “could not comply” with the present guidelines “as they’re written.” He additionally praised Hester Peirce, with whom he beforehand labored.

“If the SEC could be extra accommodating and deal pretty with these totally different firms, I believe it could be quite a bit higher” for crypto firms to function straight within the U.S. quite than going overseas, Atkins mentioned.

Whereas Domingo is gloomy to lose Atkins as an adviser, the U.S. is gaining a “actually good” potential chief of the SEC, he mentioned.