Deng Tong, Golden Finance; Sources: Golden Finance, Fox, CoinTelegraph, Twitter, Coingecko

1. Foreword

Trump chooses Paul Atkins, a digital asset advocate and senior financial regulator, to serve as the U.S. Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler plans to step down on January 20. Cryptocurrencies moved higher in the short term following the news. Current SEC Chairman Gensler is a hardliner whose ambitious agenda has led him to clash with Wall Street and the crypto industry. Atkins believes that robust and innovative capital markets can meet the needs of investors and provide funds to propel the U.S. economy to continue to lead. In addition, Atkins believes that digital assets and other innovations are critical to keeping the United States ahead. Atkins is expected to review multiple rules and court enforcement actions under Gensler, take a softer approach to cryptocurrencies and seek rule changes aimed at promoting capital formation.

As for the question "Who is Paul Atkins, the popular candidate for SEC chairman?", Golden Finance has already written an article, so I won't go into details here. You can click on the link to view the specific content.

2. Multiple identities and encryption concepts paved the way for Atkins to become SEC chairman

Atkins has multiple identities: a famous securities lawyer, a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission during the former President George W. Bush’s time, and a financial consulting company Patomak Global Partners Founder of and advisor to Trump during his first presidential term.

Atkins has worked at the SEC for ten years and has a deep understanding of the $100 trillion securities market governed by the SEC and its inner workings. During this time, he advocated for greater transparency and consistency in formulation and implementation, as well as lower barriers to entry for financial markets.

Trump has promised to give priority to finding a candidate for the next chairman who can confront the current SEC Chairman Gensler. In addition to pledging to "fire" Gensler on day one and make the United States the "cryptocurrency capital of the world," Trump also pledged to appoint a chairman who "will build the future, not hinder it."

Therefore, with the dual blessing of Atkins’ excellent professional resume and his encryption attitude that coincides with Trump’s, it paved the way for him to eventually become the chairman of the SEC.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social on Wednesday, noting that Atkins is a "proven leader in common-sense regulation." Atkins met with Trump on Monday.

Trump has high expectations for Atkins: "He believes in the promise of strong, innovative capital markets that can respond to investor needs and provide capital that will allow us to economy to be the best in the world. He also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are critical to making America greater than ever.

Atkins has publicly stated the need to develop best practices for digital assets and their trading platforms. He has served as Co-Chair of Token Alliance since 2017. Token Alliance is an industry-led initiative made up of former regulators, industry experts and lawyers aiming to drive the mainstreaming of digital assets. He is also an advisory board member of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, a leading cryptocurrency advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.

Atkins’ attitude towards cryptocurrency obviously coincides with Trump’s speech at the Bitcoin Conference. As early as July this year at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Trump publicly expressed his favor for the encryption industry and his confidence in the encryption field: The encryption industry is "the steel industry 100 years ago, and it is still in its infancy." stage”, “one day, it may surpass gold”; will ensure that the United States becomes the cryptocurrency capital of the earth and the world’s Bitcoin superpower; promises to maintain a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” and “never sell” Seizure of Bitcoin.

For specific content, please see the Golden Finance article "Review of Trump's Bitcoin Conference Speech: Ensuring the United States Becomes a Bitcoin Superpower"

From Trump's words of praise for Atkins, and Atkins In terms of its attitude towards cryptocurrencies, the new SEC will give up its crackdown on cryptocurrencies and make blockchain innovation part of its regulatory agenda.

3. The SEC will transform from radical and excessive to fair and orderly

The SEC will enter a new era with Atkins taking office. Many believe that Gensler's tenure was characterized by an aggressive and over-the-top rulemaking agenda that departed from the SEC's congressional mandate to provide fair and orderly markets and ensure investor protection.

One of Gensler's most controversial orders is to force public companies to adopt certain environmental and social governance principles, including disclosing their carbon footprints. Gensler’s tenure was also known for rigorous enforcement — particularly against the $3 trillion cryptocurrency industry, which the SEC brought more than 100 enforcement actions against.

SEC observers believe Gensler’s agenda will be overturned under Atkins’ ruling, including climate disclosure rules currently under review in federal court. The ruling was welcomed by progressive advocacy groups and politicians such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., but was widely criticized by business groups, saying it would be costly, difficult to enforce and potentially illegal because securities laws are not intended to Forcing companies to enact social, but to protect shareholders.

4. Evaluation of Atkins by industry insiders

“Crypto Mom” and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce posted on the X platform: “In the SEC, we still have manyThere is work to be done to advance free markets, capital formation, investor choice and innovation. I'm delighted that Paul Atkins, who I worked with during his last tenure at the agency, will be back to lead this effort and I can't think of anyone better qualified for the job."

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said: He agrees with the views of US SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and believes that Paul Atkins is the new SEC Excellent choice for chairman

Chris Giancarlo, who served as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during Trump’s first term, said: “Elected. "President Trump has made an excellent choice for SEC Chairman," said Atkins, who is known for his work ethics and intelligence. As a former commissioner, he has a wealth of knowledge and respect for the institution. He will encourage technological innovation, cryptocurrencies and digital finance after years of regulatory hostility. I believe Atkins will restore the SEC to its historic role in promoting capital formation and U.S. economic growth. ”

Pantera’s Chief Legal Officer Katrina Paglia said: After the SEC’s new leadership takes office, the SEC’s lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies and blockchain projects will “quietly disappear.”

"Atkins is uniquely positioned to support President-elect Trump's vision to solidify the United States as a global leader in digital asset innovation," said Cody Carbone, president of the Digital Chamber of Commerce. Paul will not only bring experience and digital asset expertise to the committee, but will also bring the clarity the industry deserves from day one. This was a home run pick. "

Jay Clayton, senior counsel at top law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, said: "Atkins knows the institution, knows the market, and knows what needs to be done. I hope he will act immediately," he said. He hopes Atkins will reform the proxy voting process, which requires advisers to disclose potential conflicts of interest when advising investors on how to vote. Clayton also believes Atkins will overturn Gensler's climate disclosure rule .

5. Atkins’ colleagues

Atkins recently expressed his hope that Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce (known as “Encryption Mom”) will lead encryption together with her Republican colleague Mark Uyeda. It was previously reported that Peirce. It’s unclear whether Peirce, whose term ends in June, hopes to lead an internal crypto working group that will reassess the agency’s approach to digital assets and engage in public dialogue with the industry.was nominated again for the position. Uyeda's term ends in 2028.

In addition to the "crypto mom" who is familiar to crypto people, Trump's new cabinet also has several members who are friendly to crypto.

Vice President J.D. Vance is a staunch supporter of crypto: he has made numerous public references to cryptocurrencies. When he opposed the Canadian authorities’ ban on bank accounts of drivers to control the epidemic, he said, “This is why cryptocurrencies are booming. If your views are wrong, the regime will cut off your access to banking services.” In February this year, at the SEC’s investigation into cryptocurrency miners He also raised questions when the company Debt Box launched an enforcement action.

J.D. Vance’s most recently disclosed holdings show that as of 2022, J.D. Vance owned between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of Bitcoin and held these assets through Coinbase. J.D. Vance also has accounts on Robinhood and Charles Schwab but did not disclose details of its holdings.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant: "Cryptocurrency is very much in line with the spirit of the Republican Party. Cryptocurrency represents freedom, and the crypto economy is an irreversible trend."

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick: Lutnick worked at Cantor Fitzgerald and became its CEO. He plans to hand over the company's Tether business ties to his son, Brandon Lutnick, after being nominated by Trump to be Commerce Secretary. At the 2024 Bitcoin Conference, he said: Bitcoin and gold are the same. Bitcoin should be traded like gold - globally, without exception. Bitcoin is the economy of the future! Lutnick has revealed that he owns hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin and expects that number to reach billions soon.

There are also several other crypto-friendly people, which will not be listed in detail here. You can check out the Golden Finance article "Trump's possible cabinet members take stock of which crypto-friendly people are there"

Not only are these unnamed cabinet members good for the crypto market, but the news that Gensler will resign has also made the crypto market more active. Many analysts believe that the bull market in the crypto market will continue until 2025. Since news of Gensler’s resignation broke, applications for the Solana ETF have surged, with Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares and Canary Capital all submitting applications to the SEC.

According to data from the Blockchain Association, despite repeated requests from industry executives for the SEC to clearly regulate cryptocurrencies, the SEC filed 104 lawsuits against industry companies between 2021 and 2023. “The era of legal battles against our industry must end,” Blockchain Association says in 2024wrote in October.

6. Summary

Affected by the good news that Trump appointed Paul Atkins as the new SEC Chairman, BTC has surged since last night. As of press time, it has exceeded the $100,000 mark and is now trading at 103322 The U.S. dollar rose 8.1% on the day.

It took only 15 years for cryptocurrency to go from geek technology and financial experiments to being recognized by investors and institutions entering the market. In the past 15 years, Bitcoin has been badmouthed and died countless times, but time has witnessed the development process of this new financial revolution. Starting from the story of a pizza, BTC has unimaginable legendary attributes.