Paul Atkins
Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission
Paul Atkins was born in Lillington, North Carolina, but grew up in Tampa, Florida. He earned both an undergraduate degree from Wofford College and his Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University.
Atkins became a lawyer in New York City, working on corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, and public and private securities offerings. He worked in France and was authorized to provide legal advice there.
Atkins served as a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during President George W. Bush’s two terms. He founded a financial services firm that specialized in regulatory compliance. He co-chaired a cryptocurrency advocacy group and sat on the advisory board of a cryptocurrency firm.
Atkins was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and confirmed by the Senate to a 5-year term that began April 21, 2025.
Atkins is married to Sarah, and they have three sons.
In the News…
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins spoke on the new regulatory approach the U.S. is taking toward digital assets. At a recent leadership summit, he highlighted innovation, competitiveness, and long-term predictability.
Chairman Atkins announced that the commission is preparing a rule to formalize an “innovation exemption“ to encourage developers to build in the U.S. instead of offshore. The new regulatory framework is intended to offer limited-scope experimentation under clear parameters and the opportunity to test new technologies.
“[W]e’ve had four years, at least, of repression of that [the digital asset industry], and with the result of pushing things abroad, rather than having innovation being done [here],” Chairman Atkins said. He observed that “anecdotally, I am hearing from friends that folks who had fled the jurisdiction here are coming back.”
The rule seeks to transition from an enforcement model to a defined compliance-based one and is expected to be finalized in late 2025 or early 2026.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Chairman Atkins today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Paul Atkins, Chairman
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F St. NE
Washington, DC 20549
