Recently, Paul Atkins became the new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and immediately outlined a course for the reform of crypto regulation. Already on April 25, 2025, on just the fourth day of his work, he held an important round table dedicated to the regulation of digital assets.
Atkins focused on the need to create a unified and understandable regulatory framework for the crypto market. According to him, blockchain technologies can play a key role in modernizing the financial system, but this requires clear and transparent rules. The round table discussed, in particular, standards for storing crypto assets, a topic of great interest to all industry participants.
Although no specific decisions were made at the meeting and individual tokens or assets were not mentioned, the course towards updating regulation is obvious. Market participants hope to develop a dialogue between the SEC, developers and legislators so that the new policy simultaneously promotes innovation and protects investors.
Interestingly, historically, the SEC has often increased pressure on the cryptosphere. Under previous chairmen, new restrictions were often introduced, especially regarding stablecoins and digital exchanges. However, Atkins, apparently, intends to go the other way — to make regulation more flexible and modern, maintaining a balance between security and the development of new technologies.
Experts believe that under the new leadership, the focus will shift to supporting blockchain initiatives and reviewing the rules for storing digital assets, which could seriously affect the strategy of institutional investors.
Do you think Atkins will be able to really change the SEC's approach and support innovation without unnecessary bureaucracy?