President-elect Donald Trump made bold promises on the campaign trail, pledging to cut burdensome regulations, reverse many of the Biden administration’s controversial rulemakings, and embrace cryptocurrency at the national level. These commitments resonated strongly with a rapidly growing community eager for regulatory reform and innovation in the crypto space.
On election night at Mar-a-Lago, Trump celebrated his anticipated victory surrounded by a distinguished lineup of supporters, including Elon Musk; Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; Vivek Ramaswamy; and Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald — prominent figures united by their advocacy for crypto, Bitcoin, and blockchain innovation. Vice President-elect JD Vance himself is a proud Bitcoin holder.
The impact of Trump’s victory on the crypto market was immediate. On Dec. 4, less than a month after his election, Bitcoin surged to six figures for the first time in its 16-year history, reaching $100,000. This extraordinary milestone marked a 126% increase since January, driven by demand for Bitcoin ETFs, anticipation of April’s Bitcoin halving event, and market confidence in Trump’s pro-crypto stance.
Central to Trump’s campaign as the pro-crypto candidate were several key pledges, including creating a strategic national Bitcoin stockpile, reforming the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and removing its embattled chairman, Gary Gensler.
Fundamental change at the SEC is urgently needed, making the choice of its next chairman more consequential than ever. North Carolinians can take pride in Trump’s nomination of former SEC commissioner and North Carolina native Paul Atkins on Dec. 4 to succeed Gary Gensler, who will step down as SEC chair ahead of Jan. 20.
Atkins, the son of a career Army officer, hails from Lillington in Harnett County. Over the years, he has built a remarkable career, becoming one of the most respected figures in Washington’s conservative legal circles and, in the last decade, the digital asset space. I had the privilege of collaborating with him during the formative days of the Token Alliance industry group from 2016 to 2018.
In a statement, Trump described Atkins as “a proven leader for common-sense regulations” who “recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.”
Appointed as an SEC commissioner by President George W. Bush on July 29, 2002, Atkins served with distinction through 2008. Tyler Gellasch, a former SEC counsel, referred to him as “the intellectual godfather” of capital markets policy for the Republican Party.
Currently the CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a fintech and risk management consultancy he founded in 2009, Atkins is expected to prioritize a deregulatory focus and foster a constructive relationship with the crypto industry. This marks a stark departure from Gensler’s tenure, which many market participants have criticized as overly aggressive and unnecessarily combative. Unsurprisingly, Atkins’ nomination has been met with praise from Republican lawmakers and the SEC’s current Republican commissioners.
A more business-friendly SEC is essential for the health of both capital and crypto markets. A significant shift in approach is widely anticipated — particularly in addressing Biden’s controversial climate disclosure rule and the SEC’s aggressive enforcement strategies, which have disproportionately targeted the crypto and broader digital-asset ecosystem.
Under outgoing Chairman Gensler’s leadership, the SEC asserted that most digital tokens qualify as securities under the Howey test, requiring registration under the Securities Act of 1933. Derived from the 1946 Supreme Court case SEC v. W. J. Howey Co., the Howey test defines an investment contract — and thus a security — as involving “an investment of money in a common enterprise with profits to come solely from the efforts of others.”
This interpretation has fueled the SEC’s contentious “regulation by enforcement” strategy in the crypto space, resulting in significant legal victories and substantial fines against cryptocurrency and stablecoin issuers. However, it has also sparked widespread debate and frustration within the digital asset industry. We’ve estimated Gensler’s anti-crypto crusade has cost the industry over $429 million.
While Congress must still act to pass comprehensive market structure legislation for the SEC and CFTC to administer, Atkins’ leadership offers a fresh approach. His tenure is expected to deliver much-needed reforms in areas such as disclosures, capital formation, and digital assets — benefiting not just the crypto industry but the American people as a whole.