The author of this article is Jason Jiang, a senior researcher at OKG Research.

On April 22, 2025, Paul Atkins officially took the oath of office as the 34th Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This "free market" regulator, nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 52 to 44, differs from his predecessor Gary Gensler, who focused on enforcement during his tenure. Upon taking office, Atkins made it clear that building a clear and open regulatory framework for digital assets would be his "top priority."

During the Gensler era, the SEC launched large-scale enforcement actions against the crypto industry, treating almost all tokens as securities, which left entrepreneurs, investment institutions, and trading platforms in a prolonged state of uncertainty and risk. Against this backdrop of high regulatory pressure and policy ambiguity, Atkins' appointment is seen as a "reboot moment" for U.S. crypto regulation.

From Traditional Regulator to "Crypto Veteran"

Paul Atkins is a typical "Washington-Wall Street shuttle diplomat." He graduated from Wofford College and Vanderbilt University Law School, and early in his career worked at the top Wall Street law firm Davis Polk, engaging in securities issuance and mergers and acquisitions, while also gaining international experience in Paris. He joined the SEC in the early 1990s, serving as a senior advisor to two former chairmen, focusing on corporate governance and market structure reform.

In 2002, Atkins was appointed as an SEC commissioner by then-President George W. Bush. Before leaving office in 2008, he was known for promoting transparent regulation and opposing bureaucratic expansion, becoming one of the representatives of the U.S. free market regulatory philosophy. In 2009, he founded the compliance consulting firm Patomak Global Partners, providing compliance strategy services to financial institutions and crypto companies.

During the establishment of Patomak, Atkins developed deep connections with the crypto industry. He served as co-chair of the "Token Alliance" under the U.S. Chamber of Digital Commerce, leading the development of best practices for token issuance and crypto platforms. He also provided strategic consulting for well-known crypto companies such as Securitize and Anchorage Digital, and invested in the crypto asset fund Off The Chain Capital. Financial disclosures indicate that his family's crypto-related assets amount to several million dollars.

These experiences make Atkins one of the few traditional regulators with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the crypto industry. However, his crypto background has also sparked controversy. Before the collapse of FTX, Patomak provided compliance advice to the company, which became one of the contentious points during his nomination process. Nevertheless, the Senate majority ultimately supported him, reflecting not only recognition of his professional capabilities but also a shift in the political atmosphere regarding crypto regulation in the U.S.

Regulation Should Not Be the Enemy of Innovation

Unlike the "litigation governance industry" regulatory approach during the Gensler era, Atkins clearly stated during hearings and on his first day in office that the SEC's mission should shift from "defining rules through enforcement" to "guiding compliance through rules."

He believes that regulation should not come at the expense of innovation, nor should it allow the market to wander in legal gray areas for an extended period. "Regulation should not be the enemy of innovation," he stated, but should provide "rational, clear, and enforceable compliance pathways," which is his first key signal to the entire crypto industry.

Atkins criticized his predecessor's "one-size-fits-all approach" of treating cryptocurrencies as securities, which led the market into a "sue first, find rules later" deadlock. In contrast, he prefers to build a more flexible and adaptive regulatory classification system based on token functionality and decentralization levels, pointing out that "the U.S. should not lose its competitive advantage in the Web3 era due to regulatory uncertainty." This aligns closely with the calls from the crypto community, developers, and even some institutional investors over the years.

Since the Senate voted to confirm Atkins as chairman on April 9, a series of actions by the SEC have made the crypto industry feel a noticeable shift in regulatory direction, with some industry insiders humorously referring to the regulatory agency as transforming into a "crypto dad":

1. Initiating Dialogue with the Crypto Industry. To quickly fill the regulatory void and reach industry consensus, the SEC's Cryptocurrency Working Group plans to hold four public roundtable meetings from April to June this year, covering key topics such as exchange regulation, custody standards, DeFi compliance, and asset tokenization, inviting industry representatives, consumer organizations, and policy researchers to discuss regulatory pathways. This is the first time in SEC history that a systematic policy consultation mechanism has been established for crypto issues, showing that the SEC under Atkins aims to adjust policy priorities in a timely manner by listening to industry voices and replacing confrontation with cooperation.

The first roundtable on April 11 focused on "Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading," discussing how to adjust rules within the existing securities law framework to accommodate crypto exchanges.

2. Large-scale Settlements or Withdrawals of Litigation Cases. After Atkins took office, the SEC's attitude towards existing crypto litigation cases has noticeably softened. On April 11, the SEC reached a long-term settlement agreement with Ripple, reducing the fine to $50 million, and XRP was not explicitly defined as a security. Meanwhile, lawsuits against several projects, including Nova Labs, were directly withdrawn, which the industry has dubbed a "regulatory amnesty wave." This "correction" stance sends a clear signal: the SEC will retroactively amend the excessive enforcement actions taken during the previous administration, hoping to resolve lingering disputes through negotiation and provide the industry with breathing room in terms of policy.

3. Initial Formation of Crypto Disclosure Standards. Also on April 11, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance released non-binding guidance on the disclosure of crypto token offerings, covering project structure, token functionality, governance design, and development progress. This marks the SEC's first attempt to provide a "checklist of expected disclosures" for crypto projects, indicating a shift in its regulatory logic from "post-enforcement" to "pre-guidance." "Crypto mom" Hester Peirce commented that this reflects the new chairman's willingness to "get involved in guidance" rather than letting the industry navigate on the edge of danger.

These directional measures indicate that the SEC under Atkins is moving from a past "high-pressure control" approach to "transparent co-governance." Rather than being a relaxation of regulation, it is a return to rational regulation, serving the market, protecting investors, and encouraging innovation.

Three Major Topics Will Become Priorities for Atkins' New Crypto Policies

After releasing initial friendly signals, the industry is generally focused on the key policy directions that the SEC will take under Atkins' leadership. Currently, the market is focused on three main areas:

1. Accelerating Stablecoin Legislation. Trump has repeatedly publicly supported the introduction of regulated dollar stablecoins to increase demand for U.S. Treasury bonds and solidify the dollar's dominant position in the digital age. Atkins has expressed support for the "GENIUS Act" proposed by Senator Bill Hagerty, which establishes a basic framework for stablecoin licenses, reserves, and information disclosure, and suggests providing state-level exemption pathways for small and medium-sized projects. During his tenure, the SEC may gradually withdraw from direct intervention in "non-security stablecoins" (such as USDC), transferring its regulatory focus to banking regulatory agencies or legislative bodies. This will remove key obstacles to the legal and compliant large-scale use of stablecoins and help promote the construction of a U.S. digital dollar ecosystem.

2. Compliance Registration Pathways for Exchanges May Be Opened. Over the past two years, exchanges like Coinbase have faced SEC lawsuits for "operating a securities trading platform without registration." Atkins advocates for establishing a dedicated compliance framework for such platforms, such as allowing registration as "Alternative Trading Systems" (ATS) or "crypto-specific broker-dealers."

According to insiders cited by The Block, several withdrawal actions are currently in preparation, and the Coinbase case may also "end without a fight," opening up space for subsequent compliance pathways. More importantly, the SEC may no longer attempt to unify regulation but instead coordinate with agencies like the CFTC and FinCEN to develop a multi-agency regulatory framework with "clear division of responsibilities," providing exchanges and their users with a more predictable environment.

3. Token Classification Standards Will Be Reshaped. One of the most challenging issues in the current crypto market is determining which tokens are securities and which are commodities or non-regulated assets. In the past, the SEC broadly applied the Howey test to classify tokens as securities, while Atkins is more inclined to classify and assess based on token functionality (utility vs. investment) and decentralization levels. He supports the "safe harbor proposal" put forward by Commissioner Hester Peirce, which grants startups a three-year grace period to complete the construction of distributed networks without worrying about SEC legal actions. This means that a dual-track system of "startup exemption + long-term compliance" may take shape, revitalizing the token issuance and financing ecosystem. At the same time, Atkins supports the "issuance equals disclosure" principle, meaning that as long as a token project provides complete information disclosure at the time of issuance and has a transparent governance structure, it can operate within a compliance framework. This could significantly alleviate compliance pressure on project teams and attract a new wave of token financing projects back to the U.S. market.

Additionally, the newly established internal research group at the SEC is re-evaluating the attributes of mainstream public chain assets. If widely used tokens like XRP and SOL are excluded from being classified as securities, it will open up more varieties for crypto ETFs. In fact, on Atkins' first day in office (April 10), the SEC quickly approved options trading for Ethereum spot ETFs, providing investors with more participation channels and signaling support for the financialization of crypto assets.

Conclusion

Paul Atkins' appointment represents a new regulatory cycle for the crypto industry in the U.S. If key links such as stablecoin compliance pathways, exchange registration systems, and token legal classifications can break through during his tenure, it will reshape the U.S.'s position in the global crypto governance system. More importantly, the change in regulatory logic will release stronger institutional signals: it is not that regulation is less, but that regulation is clearer, more consultative, and more constructive.

For the crypto industry, this is a hard-won respite and a restart that requires more rationality and self-discipline. However, Atkins is not a "laissez-faire" advocate; he has reiterated in multiple speeches that the SEC will continue to crack down on fraud, insider trading, market manipulation, and other illegal activities. The real change lies in helping the industry understand "where the path to compliance is."

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