Why the crypto world ‘is excited’ about Atkins as possible SEC chair

President-elect Trump is reportedly set to pick crypto enthusiast Paul Atkins to lead the SEC in the coming days. The former Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner currently serves on the advisory board for digital securities issuance platform Securitize. Carlos Domingo, the founder and CEO of Securitize, joined Seana Smith and Brad Smith on Morning Brief to discuss what Atkins would mean for the crypto world (BTC-USD).

Domingo says he and the rest of the Securitize team are “very excited” about the possibility of Paul Atkins as SEC chair. “He’s certainly a person that is known for streamlining regulation and being very pro digital assets, and very knowledgeable in the industry,” he added. Under Atkins’ leadership, Domingo expects a more “collaborative framework” for crypto regulation. That’s a welcome change, he says, from the current regulation by enforcement under Gary Gensler, who will step down in January.

Under the current framework, there’s lots of uncertainty, Domingo explains, including over which regulator oversees different parts of the industry. “There’s this big debate about whether certain digital assets are commodities or securities,” he says, “the SEC view has been, ‘we’re going to try and regulate everything.'” The subsequent clarity on regulation could then help boost institutional participation, Domingo predicts.

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This post was written by Kathleen Welch