Paul Atkins has been sworn in as the 34th Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He has taken over from Mark Uyeda, who had been running the regulator in an acting capacity after Gary Gensler's resignation.

A Political Appointee in the SEC

US President Donald Trump nominated Atkins to head the regulator that oversees the securities market in the United States. Although the nomination came after Trump's election victory, Atkins’ appointment was delayed due to the Senate's approval process, which was cleared with a 52–44 vote earlier this month.

“I am honoured by the trust and confidence President Trump and the Senate have placed in me to lead the SEC,” Atkins said in one of his first official comments after assuming the SEC Chair role.

NEW: The Committee congratulates @PaulSAtkins as he was sworn in as the next Chair of @SECGov. He will bring a common-sense approach to regulation and usher in an era of prosperity and innovation to make U.S. capital markets the envy of the world.https://t.co/7qJ1w78bkz

— Financial Services GOP (@FinancialCmte) April 22, 2025

Returning to Be a Regulator

Atkins is not new to regulation. He was previously appointed as an SEC Commissioner by then-President George W. Bush and served between 2002 and 2008, during the global financial crisis.

He is a former Wall Street consultant who has also worked with crypto firms and is known for his pro-crypto stance, which may influence the agency’s future direction. The SEC announcement stated that before taking over as Chair, he was the chief executive of Patomak Global Partners, a company he founded in 2009, where he “helped lead efforts to develop best practices for the digital asset sector.”

In his financial disclosure to the Senate, Atkins revealed that he holds about $6 million in crypto-related investments, including stakes in the crypto custody platform Anchorage Digital and blockchain tokenisation firm Securitize.

He and his wife, Sarah Humphreys Atkins, have a joint net worth of $327 million. Married in 1990, Atkins’ wife’s family is linked to TAMKO Building Products, a manufacturer of residential roofing shingles. The company earned $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023, according to Forbes.

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