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Trump’s Pick to Run SEC Paul Atkins Promises New Crypto Stance, Gets Few Questions

Published

2 месяца ago

27 марта, 2025

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Paul Atkins, the former member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that President Donald Trump has tapped to run the agency, assured a different direction for the agency on crypto from the last four years, though he wasn’t pressed with big-picture digital assets questions during a Thursday confirmation hearing.

Now that Trump has secured the cabinet-level echelon of his government, the White House is working on shepherding top agency chiefs through the Senate confirmation process. While many of the crypto headlines are coming from the administration and Congress these days, those running the regulatory agencies will ultimately be the ones writing the regulations the industry will have to conform with.

Atkins is seeking to be the successor of ex-Chair Gary Gensler, whose years at the agency established him as the digital assets sector’s most prominent nemesis. But Trump’s nominee is already positioning himself in stark contrast to Gensler, who criticized the industry’s history with swindlers and contended that current securities law was sufficient to treat much of the space as if it were in active violation of registration requirements.

«A top priority of my chairmanship will be to work with my fellow commissioners and Congress to provide a firm regulatory foundation for digital assets through a rational, coherent, and principled approach,» Atkins said in his prepared testimony for Thursday.

Senator Tim Scott, the South Carolina Republican who chairs the committee, said Atkins will «provide long-overdue clarity for digital assets.»

But even before the hearing began, Atkins was being slammed by Senator Elizabether Warren, the Massachusetts lawmaker who is the committee’s ranking Democrat, who registered doubt about his ability to be impartial to the digital assets sector he’s served as an adviser.

At the hearing table beside Atkins, Gould made his case for taking over the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the regulator for national banks. The OCC has been a significant player in the digital assets sector’s campaign against U.S. banking oversight that’s pressured banks to keep the industry at an arm’s length. Crypto firms and insiders have struggled to maintain banking relationships and have argued that the regulators authored that «debanking» strain.

The first question to Gould was on that situation, with Scott asking whether he’d commit to reversing that previous stance, to which Gould responded, «absolutely.»

For the crypto industry, Atkins’ responses on crypto matters are potentially more urgent. But he wasn’t questioned on his views about next steps for cryptocurrency oversight, nor about the legislative efforts poised to remake U.S. crypto policy.

SBF

At one point, Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana raised the topic of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who he said looks like a «fourth runner-up in a John Belushi lookalike contest,» and asked Atkins whether the SEC appropriately looked into SBF’s parents for their involvement in his fraudulent activities.

«I look forward to getting to the SEC to find out what happened,» Atkins said. «Like you, I’m concerned about those reports.»

But Kennedy took it further, suggesting a lack of accountability that signals «two standards for law and punishment» in the U.S.

«I don’t think the SEC has done a damn thing,» Kennedy said. «They’re crooks!» he shouted. «And I expect the SEC to do something about it.»

Few other senators delved into wider crypto matters, and those that may have been expected to, such as Senator Cynthia Lummis, weren’t present. The hearing only lasted two hours and included four nominees for various offices, causing some Democrats to lament that this wasn’t enough time to speak with each person.

Atkins’ most difficult moments revolved around his tenure as an SEC commissioner in the run-up to the 2008 meltdown and the agency’s failings in policing the mortgage securities that contributed to that crisis. Atkins deflected the primary responsibility of the crisis as belonging to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The next step in the confirmation process is for the committee to vote on the nominees and forward them for potential approval by the overall Senate.

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Solana (SOL) Surges 6% on Bullish Reversal and DeFi Activity Toward $180

Published

1 час ago

20 мая, 2025

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The cryptocurrency market continues to respond to broader economic factors as Solana demonstrates resilience amid global trade uncertainties. SOL’s price action formed a clear uptrend with higher lows and higher highs, breaking through key resistance levels with institutional-grade volume suggesting accumulation despite a brief 1.35% correction in recent hours. Meanwhile, analysts point to the $166.82 level as a crucial short-term pivot, with potential for significant upward movement if SOL can maintain momentum above $177 resistance.

Technical Analysis Highlights

SOL climbed from a low of $159.69 to a high of $173.03, representing a significant range of $13.34 (8.35%).
Price action formed a clear uptrend with higher lows and higher highs, breaking through key resistance at $166.87.
Above-average volume was observed around the $167-$170 zone, indicating strong buyer interest.
Notable support established at $160.34, where buyers stepped in with conviction during early hours.
Final four hours showed accelerated momentum with volume spikes exceeding the 24-hour average, suggesting institutional accumulation.
A brief downward correction occurred in the last 60 minutes, falling from $172.19 to $169.87 (1.35% decline).
The $170.00 psychological level briefly acted as support before failing.
Final 30 minutes showed decreasing volatility and volume, potentially indicating exhaustion of selling pressure.

External References

«Solana Price Holds $166 Support After Rejection From $183 – What Comes Next?«, NewsBTC, published May 19, 2025.
«Here’s What Can Trigger a Solana (SOL) Bull Run«, CryptoPotato, published May 19, 2025.
«Solana Price Prediction: Rising Network Adoption May Push SOL Price Beyond $200 By May«, CoinPedia, published May 19, 2025.

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Circle Has Explored Potential $5B Sale to Coinbase or Ripple Instead of IPO: Report

Published

1 час ago

20 мая, 2025

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Stablecoin issuer Circle, which filed for an initial public offering (IPO) last month, has explored the alternative of a sale to crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) or payments company Ripple, according to a Monday report by Fortune.

The New York-based issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin, took part in informal talks over a potential sale from which it was seeking at least $5 billion, Fortune reported, citing people who asked not to be identified.

This figure would be line with the company’s valuation by investment banks JPMorgan and Citi, which Circle had hired to help with the IPO.

Coinbase holds a minority share in Circle, and the two companies share revenue from USDC’s reserve interest income. Ripple recently debuted its own stablecoin, RLUSD. An offer by Ripple to buy Circle was rejected, Bloomberg reported last month.

Circle said in an emailed statement that it «is not for sale,» and remains committed to going public, Fortune said. The company aborted a previous attempt at going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger in 2021.

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RWA Platform TokenFi Is Tokenizing the Floki Minibot

Published

1 час ago

20 мая, 2025

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TokenFi, a sister project to Floki that focuses on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, is set to tokenize the Floki Minibot M1 — an AI-powered robot built by Rice Robotics — marking what the team says is the first tokenization of a consumer AI robot.

The move coincides with the launch of TokenFi’s RWA tokenization module on May 23. A presale for the Minibot M1’s token will go live the same day, initially for users on a whitelist compiled by Rice AI and select Floki ecosystem participants.

The presale ties into broader plans to launch Rice AI’s RICE token and conduct an airdrop for Floki (FLOKI) and TokenFi (TOKEN) holders, according to the announcement. Further details are expected post-sale, the team told CoinDesk.

The Floki Minibot is a branded version of Rice Robotics’ compact delivery and companion robot, which operates autonomously and is built on the RICE AI system. Rice Robotics counts Nvidia, Softbank, Mitsui Fudosan and 7-Eleven Japan among its partners and clients.

«This is the first time in history that an AI robot will be tokenized,” TokenFi said in a statement to CoinDesk. “It’s a phenomenal moment for TokenFi, the RWA industry, and the AI robotics space.”

TokenFi aims to be a leading RWA infrastructure provider, allowing companies to tokenize real-world items — from assets to equity and now robotics — using blockchain rails.

Floki developers said earlier this year that they believe Rice Robotics is “well-positioned for growth” in the AI robotics sector, citing industry projections that peg the market at over $100 billion by 2030.

TOKEN has gained 19% in the past 24 hours, data from CoinGecko show, alongside a jump in major tokens. The CoinDesk 20 Index, a measure of the broader crypto market, has added 3%.