Senator Elizabeth Warren declares a conflict of interest in the appointment of crypto lawyer Paul Atkins to head the SEC

What’s new? Proposed by US President Donald Trump for the post of chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), crypto advocate Paul Atkins submitted an income and asset declaration in which he disclosed ownership of cryptocurrency assets worth up to $6 million. This sparked displeasure from cryptocurrency opponent, Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Warren’s letter

What else is known? As early as March 27, the Senate will hold a confirmation hearing for Atkins’ nomination to head the SEC. After Trump’s inauguration in January, this position was left by Gary Gensler, known for his hostile approach to the crypto industry: under him, the commission opened numerous investigations and lawsuits against the largest representatives of the industry.

After Gensler’s departure, crypto attorney Mark Uyeda was appointed as acting chairman, and the SEC began to actively change its approach to regulating the crypto industry. For example, it launched a task force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, known as crypto mom, to hold roundtables with the industry to develop new rules.

In addition, the commission has terminated or suspended investigations and withdrawn lawsuits against crypto exchanges Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Uniswap, broker Robinhood, fintech company Ripple, NFT marketplace OpenSea, and others. All proceedings concerned the illegal offering of securities, understood to be cryptocurrencies such as SOL or XRP.

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Senator Warren sent a letter to Atkins after the publication of Atkins’ declaration, where she pointed out a possible conflict of interest should he be appointed.

She thought Atkins’ experience as a consultant to Wall Street financial firms in fraud proceedings with the SEC could contribute to this. He was also a consultant to the cryptocurrency lobbying group Digital Chamber.

“In these roles, you and your firm were paid by the same companies that you would now be responsible for regulating. This will raise serious concerns about your impartiality,” Warren emphasized.

Accordingly, she urged Atkins to consider mitigating these potential conflicts of interest by recusing himself from any SEC matters involving his former clients. He should also agree not to engage in lobbying, consulting, or other work for any companies under the SEC’s jurisdiction for at least four years after leaving the chairmanship. In her letter, she asked Atkins to provide a written response before the hearing.

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According to Reuters, Atkins’ family owns $328 million in assets, largely due to his wife’s ties to roofing supply giant TAMKO Building Products.

His consulting firm Patomak Global Partners, which serves companies in the traditional financial and cryptocurrency sectors, has been valued at between $25 million and $50 million. Atkins has promised to step away from the company if appointed to head the SEC.

According to a Fortune report, Atkins’ cryptocurrency-related assets have been valued at up to $6 million and include a combined $1 million in the accounts of custodian Anchorage Digital and tokenization firm Securitize. At the latter, he was a board member until February.

He also said he has a stake of up to $5 million in crypto investment firm Off the Chain Capital, where he is a limited partner.

Off the Chain’s investments include private equity stakes in major crypto companies such as Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Kraken, as well as claims on bankrupt exchange Mt. Gox. Atkins has also promised to exit Off the Chain Capital within 120 days of his approval.

In addition, he has already left the board of directors of the Digital Chamber of Commerce organization and terminated his participation in its Token Alliance initiative.