The Senate Banking Committee advanced the nomination of Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
If confirmed to the role by the U.S. Senate, Atkins is expected to rein in SEC enforcement while playing a major role in shaping new regulations for the digital-asset industry. The timing of that vote hasn’t been scheduled yet.
Atkins was a Republican SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008. After departing from the agency, he launched Patomak Global Partners, a Washington consulting firm. Patomak has worked with prominent names on Wall Street, and Atkins has held a number of advisory roles for digital-asset organizations.
Those prior relationships have sparked sharp scrutiny from some lawmakers, particularly Massachussetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren, about potential conflicts of interest. Atkins has said he’s fully in compliance with all ethics and divestment obligations.
The committee on Thursday also advanced the nomination of Jonathan Gould to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Gould has been a partner at Jones Day’s financial markets practice in Washington since 2022. He has promised to resign from his position if confirmed and said he would recuse himself from matters involving the firm and its clients.
Copyright 2025 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.