Atkins’ Year One: SEC Moves to Clear Crypto Rules
After one year as SEC chair, Paul Atkins shifted agency policy toward clearer crypto rules, cut some enforcement actions and prioritized coordination with other regulators.
Paul Atkins marked his first year as SEC chair at the New York Stock Exchange on April 20 and outlined a shift in agency policy toward clearer rules for digital assets and reduced civil enforcement actions. Atkins rang the NYSE opening bell to mark the anniversary and framed the changes as part of the agency’s agenda for investor protection, orderly markets and capital formation.
The SEC announced support for its Crypto Task Force, the dismissal of several civil enforcement actions against crypto firms, and a push for more explicit guidance on how digital assets fit under securities law. Agency officials said the policy changes aim to make market rules easier to navigate for digital-asset firms and to increase coordination with other regulators when jurisdictions overlap.
Atkins said at the NYSE event, “I promised a new day at the SEC when I came aboard … We’ve made huge progress.” He linked the agency’s actions to restoring regulatory clarity, strengthening U.S. market competitiveness and accelerating innovation.
CFTC Chair Mike Selig described the shift as an end to “regulation by enforcement” and pointed to closer coordination between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the SEC.
House Financial Services Committee Republicans posted on X that the SEC’s policy changes align with goals of innovation, stronger capital markets and investor protection and that members look forward to continuing those efforts.
Atkins was sworn in as the SEC’s 34th chairman on April 21, 2025. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2025, and confirmed by the Senate on April 9. Atkins previously served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008.
Regulatory officials said the combination of clarified guidance, fewer civil enforcement actions against certain firms and greater interagency coordination is meant to provide clearer operating conditions for businesses in the digital-asset sector. Market participants and lawmakers are seeking more explicit rules for crypto and other emerging financial technologies.
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