🚨 Trump-Era SEC Veteran Paul Atkins Seizes Back Control—Regulatory Whiplash Ahead?

**Wall Street’s watchdog gets a familiar face—and a political agenda.** Paul Atkins, ex-SEC commissioner and deregulation hawk, is back at the helm as Trump tightens grip on the agency. Expect rollbacks, lighter oversight, and a green light for ’innovation’ (read: loopholes). *Because who needs investor protection when markets can ‘self-correct’?*

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Financial disclosures for his candidacy reveal Atkins holds up to $5 million in digital-asset investment firm Off the Chain Capital LLC, where he is a limited partner.

Atkins has a combined net worth of roughly $327 million, including assets and equities from his heiress wife, making him one of the wealthiest to hold the SEC chair in decades.

President Trump’s SEC picks, beyond Atkins, show a consistent pattern of selecting individuals with strong Wall Street connections and a track record of handling financial industry matters.

In his first term, Trump picked Jay Clayton, who served at Sullivan & Cromwell, a prominent law firm with deep ties to Wall Street. At the law firm, Clayton represented top financial firms, including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Bear Stearns, and UBS.

The Atkins-led SEC now faces decisions on over 70 crypto-related ETF applications, with crypto assets ranging from Solana and XRP to Dogecoin and MELANIA.

"Gonna be a wild year," Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Balchunas said on X.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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