A number of stars would wish to align for Paul Atkins, reportedly president-elect Donald Trump’s prime candidate to chair the U.S. Securities and Change Fee, to take the job.
It’s an unattractive function for him due to the quantity of labor wanted to show across the bloated company he believes was mismanaged by outgoing SEC chair Gary Gensler, an individual aware of Atkins’ pondering mentioned.
Reluctance to wash up Gensler’s “mess” has been shared by former Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee chair Chris Giancarlo, who has advocated for Atkins to take the SEC job and was as soon as thought-about a candidate himself.
Atkins, a former SEC commissioner, was noticed at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort this week, one trade supply mentioned. He was scheduled to interview for the SEC chair function Sunday and Monday, mentioned one other individual with data of the conferences.
Atkins is the founder and CEO of Patomak International Companions, a world consulting agency specializing in technique, danger administration, and regulatory compliance. Patomak serves crypto companies, however they’re a small a part of its diversified observe, which incorporates conventional monetary shoppers, public corporations, commerce associations, regulation companies, banks and insurance coverage corporations. Previous to beginning Patomak, Atkins was a commissioner of the SEC from 2002 to 2008, appointed by former President George W. Bush. Throughout his time on the SEC, Mark Uyeda and Hester Pierce, who later turned commissioners, labored as counsel to Atkins.
Atkins is nicely regarded in conservative circles. In keeping with a supply near Atkins, he’s pleasant with Key Sq. Group founder Scott Bessent, the billionaire hedge fund supervisor chosen by Trump to turn into Treasury Secretary.
Atkins is reluctant to depart his observe, the individual aware of his pondering mentioned. Taking on the SEC chair function would require him to resign from his enterprise pursuits, which he might solely do as soon as his agency is well-positioned to function with out him, sources mentioned.
Different candidates
Crypto legal professional Teresa Goody Guillén can also be mentioned to be into consideration by the Trump transition group. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson and different crypto executives are privately and publicly supporting her based mostly on her pro-crypto views and expertise serving and arguing in opposition to the SEC on behalf of blockchain shoppers. Guillén has declared on X that she desires to “Make Crypto Great Again” and has been polling the general public on the best methods the company may handle regulatory challenges.
Final week, crypto govt and former performing Comptroller of the Foreign money Brian Brooks was believed to be a lead candidate to helm the SEC, gathering robust assist from Web3 proponents and at one level main the percentages on prediction market Kalshi. However his lack of securities regulation expertise made him a longshot, sources mentioned.
Circle Chief Authorized Officer and Head of Company Affairs Heath Tarbert is reportedly being thought-about. He’s a former CFTC chair, assistant Treasury secretary, and affiliate White Home counsel. “We won’t comment on speculation,” said a Circle spokesperson.
Brad Bondi was floated as a possible candidate, and while he has been described as “pro-crypto,” critics privately said he has little experience in Web3, and is more of a traditional securities lawyer with a background serving the SEC and opposing the agency in court. But Bondi’s trump card, as it were, could be his close ties to the Trump administration. His sister Pam Bondi was nominated to become U.S. attorney general and is a Trump loyalist who represented the former president during his 2020 impeachment trial.
Similarly, former SEC investment management director and Kirkland and Ellis partner Norm Champ is a Trump campaign backer who told CoinDesk “I would be honored to serve as SEC Chair if President Trump thinks I am the right person for the job.” But his traditional securities background has not gathered excitement in the crypto community.
Trump’s pick for Manhattan’s U.S. attorney, Jay Clayton, has strongly endorsed attorneys Robert Stebbins and Dalia Blass, sources said, whom he supervised as SEC chief from 2017 to 2020. Crypto experts have been outspoken against them.
“Stebbins personally signed off, approved and encouraged 80 or so SEC crypto-related enforcement actions, including the most controversial of all – the SEC case involving Ripple,” wrote Ripple Labs advocate and former SEC attorney John Reed Stark on X. The SEC partially lost that case when a judge ruled that XRP sales by Ripple Labs on public exchanges did not fall under the definition of a security; the agency has said it will appeal that decision.
“Big Crypto is extraordinarily powerful and will have a lot of influence in the SEC Chair’s selection and I can’t imagine Big Crypto allowing Bob Stebbins to get the SEC Chair nomination,” Stark wrote.
Republican SEC commissioner Uyeda could become acting chair of the SEC after Gary Gensler steps down on inauguration day if the Senate doesn’t confirm his SEC pick by January 20. Commissioner Pierce, another favorite for the role, has privately stated she is not interested in being the chair on an acting or permanent basis, which would improve Uyeda’s chances. Whether he would stay in the role is less certain.
“I expect Trump may prefer to bring in someone new of his own,” crypto lawyer Jake Chervinsky stated on X.
Robinhood chief legal officer Dan Gallagher was said to be a top SEC chief candidate before the election, but he has since said he is not interested.
“I have made it clear that I do not wish to be considered for this position.” Gallagher advised CoinDesk in an emailed assertion. “I really feel I could make super progress to democratize finance in my present function, and I’ll stay a vocal and constant advocate for constructive change in our markets.”
Atkins, Guillén, and Uyeda declined to comment for this story. Trump transition team spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, Brooks, Brad Bondi, Stebbins, and Blass did not respond to requests for comment.
Washington experts say the Trump administration will likely roll back the SEC’s oversight of the $3 trillion digital assets market in favor of the CFTC. The latter agency is widely perceived to take a lighter touch because the market it regulates – derivatives – is dominated by sophisticated institutional traders rather than retail investors with less risk tolerance.
The SEC has led a wide-ranging campaign against digital assets companies that was often criticized as unfair. The five-member commission will additionally need to fill a commissioner position following Jamie Lizárraga’s introduced departure. The crypto neighborhood is conserving a detailed eye on the SEC chair choice course of, which is anticipated to conclude within the coming days.
