SEC Chairman Paul Atkins Announces New Regulatory Approach

According to Odaily, the new Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, announced on Monday a shift in the agency's regulatory approach, marking what he described as a 'new era' for the SEC. Atkins emphasized that future policy-making will rely less on ad-hoc enforcement actions and more on the existing powers to establish rules, interpretations, and exemptions, aiming to set appropriate standards for market participants. Atkins criticized the previous SEC Chairman, Gary Gensler, for what he described as an 'ostrich-like' approach, suggesting that the agency had hoped cryptocurrencies would simply disappear. He indicated that the SEC might revise custody rules to allow self-custody under certain conditions and is considering whether to offer conditional exemptions for those looking to introduce new products and services.