US President-elect Donald Trump nominated veteran Washington attorney Paul Atkins to chair the Securites and Exchange Commission (SEC), a move cheered by the cryptocurrency industry.
Atkins, an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, founded risk consultancy firm Patomak Global Partners in 2009, whose clients include companies in the banking, trading and cryptocurrency industries.
An announcement from the Trump transition noted that Atkins had been co-chairman of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, which promotes the use of digital assets, since 2017.
“Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations,” Trump said in a statement that emphasized Atkins’ committment to “robust, innovative” capital markets.
“He also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump added.
In a separate statement, Trump picked former senator Kelly Loeffler to head the Small Business Administration.
“Kelly will bring her experience in business and Washington to reduce red tape, and unleash opportunity for our Small Businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive,” he said, adding that she would also co-chair his inauguration committee.
During the presidential campaign, Trump drew heavy financial support from cryptocurrency backers, some of whom are also close to the Republican’s mega-donor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The digital assets industry has been eager for a change at the SEC, with outgoing chair Gary Gensler having taken a hostile posture on the sector.
Gensler has referred to the cryptocurrency world as “the wild west” and launched lawsuits against major trading platforms including Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken, along with various smaller startups.
The SEC chair also backed controversial measures to require publicly traded companies to measure their exposure to climate change.
Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, cheered the nomination, calling Atkins an “excellent” choice.
“The past four years under Chair Gensler was a non-stop anti-crypto crusade, leading to an innovation stalemate and incalculable job, talent and economic losses,” she said on X, the former Twitter.
But Senator Elizabeth Warren, incoming top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, expressed concern about his appointment, saying Atkins protested fines against major corporations despite their wrongdoing during the last financial crisis.
