Trump swears in Paul Atkins as SEC chair after nomination

Paul Atkins officially assumed the role of SEC Chair after being nominated by Trump months earlier. He is now the 34th Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, following his formal swearing-in.

On April 21, officials announced Atkins’ appointment, nearly two weeks after the Senate confirmed his nomination with a 52-44 vote.

“I am honored by the trust and confidence President Trump and the Senate have placed in me to lead the SEC,” said Atkins, who served as an SEC commissioner between 2002 and 2008.

“As I return to the SEC, I am pleased to join with my fellow Commissioners and the agency’s dedicated professionals to advance its mission to facilitate capital formation; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and protect investors.”

”Together we will work to ensure that the U.S. is the best and most secure place in the world to invest and do business.”

Observers believe Atkins will lead a shift toward crypto-friendliness at the SEC, contrasting with Gensler’s approach under Biden.

The confirmation process slowed down, reportedly due to financial paperwork triggered by his marriage into a billionaire family.

His financial disclosures reportedly included crypto investments worth up to $6 million, involving crypto platforms like Anchorage Digital and Securitize.

Atkins replaced acting chair Mark Uyeda, who had earlier contributed to creating a Crypto Task Force designed to strengthen connections with the industry.

Under Atkins’ leadership, the SEC has dropped several enforcement actions and investigations that Gensler’s commission previously launched, including cases against Coinbase, Consensys, Gemini, and Uniswap.

Over 70 crypto-focused exchange-traded fund applications are waiting for approval by the SEC this year, as Bloomberg reported on April 21.

“Everything from XRP, Litecoin and Solana to Penguins, Doge and 2x Melania and everything in between,” Bloomberg ETF analyst James Balchunas said in an X post.

“Gonna be a wild year.”

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated in February that the rise in crypto ETF filings represents a “spaghetti cannon approach,” with issuers experimenting to find what the new SEC leadership may approve.

“Issuers will try to launch many many different things and see what sticks,” Seyffart said.

Meanwhile, Coinbase confirmed that it will offer Reserve Rights (RSR) on the Base network, with transfers already enabled on both Coinbase and Coinbase Exchange in areas where trading is allowed.

The announcement confirmed that RSR trading will begin on or after 9 AM PT on April 22, 2025, as the token shows significant price gains across various timeframes.

The token rose by 7.7% over the last day, gained 7.2% over seven days, and saw a 24.3% jump over the past month.

This price increase coincides with news about Paul Atkins, who has affiliations with the Reserve Rights project.

The announcement from Coinbase raised eyebrows, especially considering Atkins’ prior involvement as an advisor to the Reserve Rights Foundation during its initial development phase.

Coinbase shared specifics about the RSR token’s integration, confirming that it will be available solely on the Base network.