A
lot
of
stars
would
need
to
align
for
Paul
Atkins,
reportedly
president-elect
Donald
Trump’s
top
candidate
to
chair
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission,
to
take
the
job.
continues
below
It
is
an
unattractive
role
for
him
because
of
the
amount
of
work
needed
to
turn
around
the
bloated
agency
he
believes
was
mismanaged
by
outgoing
SEC
chair
Gary
Gensler,
a
person
familiar
with
Atkins’
thinking
said.
Reluctance
to
clean
up
Gensler’s
“mess”
has
been
shared
by
former
Commodity
Futures
Trading
Commission
chair
Chris
Giancarlo,
who
has
advocated
for
Atkins
to
take
the
SEC
job
and
was
once
considered
a
candidate
himself.
Atkins,
a
former
SEC
commissioner,
was
spotted
at
Trump’s
Mar-A-Lago
resort
this
week,
one
industry
source
said.
He
was
scheduled
to
interview
for
the
SEC
chair
role
Sunday
and
Monday,
said
another
person
with
knowledge
of
the
meetings.
Atkins
is
the
founder
and
CEO
of
Patomak
Global
Partners,
a
global
consulting
firm
specializing
in
strategy,
risk
management,
and
regulatory
compliance.
Patomak
serves
crypto
firms,
but
they
are
a
small
part
of
its
diversified
practice,
which
includes
traditional
financial
clients,
public
companies,
trade
associations,
law
firms,
banks
and
insurance
companies.
Prior
to
starting
Patomak,
Atkins
was
a
commissioner
of
the
SEC
from
2002
to
2008,
appointed
by
former
President
George
W.
Bush.
During
his
time
at
the
SEC,
Mark
Uyeda
and
Hester
Pierce,
who
later
became
commissioners,
worked
as
counsel
to
Atkins.
Atkins
is
well
regarded
in
conservative
circles.
According
to
a
source
close
to
Atkins,
he
is
friendly
with
Key
Square
Group
founder
Scott
Bessent,
the
billionaire
hedge
fund
manager
selected
by
Trump
to
become
Treasury
Secretary.
Atkins
is
reluctant
to
leave
his
practice,
the
person
familiar
with
his
thinking
said.
Taking
up
the
SEC
chair
role
would
require
him
to
resign
from
his
business
interests,
which
he
may
only
do
once
his
firm
is
well-positioned
to
operate
without
him,
sources
said.
Other
candidates
Crypto
attorney
Teresa
Goody
Guillén
is
also
said
to
be
under
consideration
by
the
Trump
transition
team.
Binance
co-founder
Changpeng
Zhao,
Cardano
creator
Charles
Hoskinson
and
other
crypto
executives
are
privately
and
publicly
supporting
her
based
on
her
pro-crypto
views
and
experience
serving
and
arguing
against
the
SEC
on
behalf
of
blockchain
clients.
Guillén
has
declared
on
X
that
she
wants
to
“Make
Crypto
Great
Again”
and
has
been
polling
the
public
on
the
most
effective
ways
the
agency
could
address
regulatory
challenges.
Last
week,
crypto
executive
and
former
acting
Comptroller
of
the
Currency
Brian
Brooks
was
believed
to
be
a
lead
candidate
to
helm
the
SEC,
gathering
strong
support
from
Web3
proponents
and
at
one
point
leading
the
odds
on
prediction
market
Kalshi.
But
his
lack
of
securities
law
experience
made
him
a
longshot,
sources
said.
Circle
Chief
Legal
Officer
and
Head
of
Corporate
Affairs
Heath
Tarbert
is
reportedly
being
considered.
He
is
a
former
CFTC
chair,
assistant
Treasury
secretary,
and
associate
White
House
counsel.
“We
won’t
comment
on
speculation,”
said
a
Circle
spokesperson.
Brad
Bondi
was
floated
as
a
possible
candidate,
and
while
he
has
been
described
as
“pro-crypto,”
critics
privately
said
he
has
little
experience
in
Web3,
and
is
more
of
a
traditional
securities
lawyer
with
a
background
serving
the
SEC
and
opposing
the
agency
in
court.
But
Bondi’s
trump
card,
as
it
were,
could
be
his
close
ties
to
the
Trump
administration.
His
sister
Pam
Bondi
was
nominated
to
become
U.S.
attorney
general
and
is
a
Trump
loyalist
who
represented
the
former
president
during
his
2020
impeachment
trial.
Similarly,
former
SEC
investment
management
director
and
Kirkland
and
Ellis
partner
Norm
Champ
is
a
Trump
campaign
backer
who
told
CoinDesk
“I
would
be
honored
to
serve
as
SEC
Chair
if
President
Trump
thinks
I
am
the
right
person
for
the
job.”
But
his
traditional
securities
background
has
not
gathered
excitement
in
the
crypto
community.
Trump’s
pick
for
Manhattan’s
U.S.
attorney,
Jay
Clayton,
has
strongly
endorsed
attorneys
Robert
Stebbins
and
Dalia
Blass,
sources
said,
whom
he
supervised
as
SEC
chief
from
2017
to
2020.
Crypto
experts
have
been
outspoken
against
them.
“Stebbins
personally
signed
off,
approved
and
encouraged
80
or
so
SEC
crypto-related
enforcement
actions,
including
the
most
controversial
of
all
–
the
SEC
case
involving
Ripple,”
wrote
Ripple
Labs
advocate
and
former
SEC
attorney
John
Reed
Stark
on
X.
The
SEC
partially
lost
that
case
when
a
judge
ruled
that
XRP
sales
by
Ripple
Labs
on
public
exchanges
did
not
fall
under
the
definition
of
a
security;
the
agency
has
said
it
will
appeal
that
decision.
“Big
Crypto
is
extraordinarily
powerful
and
will
have
a
lot
of
influence
in
the
SEC
Chair’s
selection
and
I
can’t
imagine
Big
Crypto
allowing
Bob
Stebbins
to
get
the
SEC
Chair
nomination,”
Stark
wrote.
Republican
SEC
commissioner
Uyeda
could
become
acting
chair
of
the
SEC
after
Gary
Gensler
steps
down
on
inauguration
day
if
the
Senate
doesn’t
confirm
his
SEC
pick
by
January
20.
Commissioner
Pierce,
another
favorite
for
the
role,
has
privately
stated
she
is
not
interested
in
being
the
chair
on
an
acting
or
permanent
basis,
which
would
improve
Uyeda’s
chances.
Whether
he
would
stay
in
the
role
is
less
certain.
“I
expect
Trump
may
prefer
to
bring
in
someone
new
of
his
own,”
crypto
lawyer
Jake
Chervinsky
stated
on
X.
Robinhood
chief
legal
officer
Dan
Gallagher
was
said
to
be
a
top
SEC
chief
candidate
before
the
election,
but
he
has
since
said
he
is
not
interested.
“I
have
made
it
clear
that
I
do
not
wish
to
be
considered
for
this
position.”
Gallagher
told
CoinDesk
in
an
emailed
statement.
“I
feel
I
can
make
tremendous
progress
to
democratize
finance
in
my
current
role,
and
I
will
remain
a
vocal
and
consistent
advocate
for
positive
change
in
our
markets.”
Atkins,
Guillén,
and
Uyeda
declined
to
comment
for
this
story.
Trump
transition
team
spokesperson
Karoline
Leavitt,
Brooks,
Brad
Bondi,
Stebbins,
and
Blass
did
not
respond
to
requests
for
comment.
Washington
experts
say
the
Trump
administration
will
likely
roll
back
the
SEC’s
oversight
of
the
$3
trillion
digital
assets
market
in
favor
of
the
CFTC.
The
latter
agency
is
widely
perceived
to
take
a
lighter
touch
because
the
market
it
regulates
–
derivatives
–
is
dominated
by
sophisticated
institutional
traders
rather
than
retail
investors
with
less
risk
tolerance.
The
SEC
has
led
a
wide-ranging
campaign
against
digital
assets
companies
that
was
often
criticized
as
unfair.
The
five-member
commission
will
additionally
need
to
fill
a
commissioner
position
following
Jamie
Lizárraga’s
announced
departure.
The
crypto
community
is
keeping
a
close
eye
on
the
SEC
chair
selection
process,
which
is
expected
to
conclude
in
the
coming
days.
