Pro-crypto SEC chair nominee Paul Atkins advances after narrow Senate Committee vote

Paul Atkins, President Trump’s nominee for the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in a key step towards his confirmation. The Senate Banking Committee approved the nominee in a 13 to 11 vote in favour of Atkins on Thursday, sending him to the floor of the Senate for confirmation.

🚨NEW: @SECGov Chair nominee Paul Atkins has been voted through @BankingGOP Committee.

Next up in the process, his nomination will move on to the full Senate for a vote. https://t.co/K0TokhHbLA

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) April 3, 2025

The committee vote was divided along party lines, with all Democrats voting against the nomination. However, it may be ratified by the entire Senate, though it will pass by a slim margin since Mr. Atkins has more support on this side.

Notably, the majority of the Democrats were not present in the committee on April 3, and Senator Elizabeth Warren voted on behalf of the absent members. The nomination comes just after the previous chairperson, Gary Gensler, resigned from his position on January 20th.

Before the voting, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Senator Tim Scott, stated that the confirmation of Atkins may bring to the Commission much-needed clarity for digital assets.

Mark Uyeda has been acting as the chairman since Gensler’s exit during what can be described as a transition period. Under his brief tenure as the acting chairman of the SEC, they created a cryptocurrency task force and brought several enforcement actions against major firms operating in the digital asset space. Atkins, who had previously worked as the SEC commissioner, has been expected to extend similar policy changes to the agency.

Atkin’s previous experience and stance on regulation

Atkins previously served as the commissioner of the SEC during the George W. Bush administration from 2002 to 2008. He later founded Patomak Global Partners, an independent financial services consultancy firm.

In an interview in 2023, Atkins cited the U.S regulations as having played a role in the collapse of FTX. He noted that because there were no set and friendly guidelines regarding these innovative financial platforms, they posed some form of difficulty in regulation. The Senate Banking Committee also endorsed three other nominations in addition to Atkins.

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