Prospective SEC chair pressed on sale of FTX-tied firm

Lawmakers in the US Senate Banking Committee questioned prospective Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) member Paul Atkins on his ties to the crypto industry and how he might regulate digital assets if confirmed.

Questioning Atkins at his nomination hearing on March 27, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, the committee’s ranking member, said the former SEC commissioner had had “staggeringly bad judgment” in his role leading up to the 2008 financial crisis — Atkins served at the agency from 2002 to 2008. Sen. Warren also asked Atkins to disclose the buyers of his consulting firm Patomak Global Partners — which advised crypto exchange FTX before its collapse in 2022 — for transparency about potential conflicts of interest with the digital asset industry.

“Your clients pay you north of $1,200 an hour for advice on how to influence regulators like the SEC, and if you’re confirmed, you will be in a prime spot to deliver for all those clients who’ve been paying you millions of dollars for years,” said Sen. Warren, suggesting Atkins’ judgment “will be influenced by more than an objective assessment of the data.”

The Massachusetts senator sent a letter to Donald Trump’s SEC pick on March 23, calling on him to be prepared to answer questions related to his potential role at the agency based on his ties to the crypto industry through Patomak. At the March 27 hearing, Sen. Warren asked Atkins to disclose the consulting firm’s potential buyers — he said he planned to sell the company if confirmed — who might be “buying access to the future chair of the SEC.” 

Atkins said he would “abide by the process” but did not directly answer Sen. Warren’s question. She suggested that the sale of Patomak could be a “pre-bribe” for the former SEC commissioner’s services.

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Sen. Warren’s questions on conflicts of interest over digital assets contrasted with statements from Republican lawmakers like Committee Chair Tim Scott, who criticized the direction of the SEC under former Chair Gary Gensler. In his opening statement at the hearing, Senator Scott claimed Atkins would provide “long overdue clarity for digital assets.” 

“A top priority of my chairmanship will be to work with my fellow Commissioners and Congress to provide a firm regulatory foundation for digital assets through a rational, coherent, and principled approach,” Atkins said in a prepared statement released before the hearing. 

Since Trump nominated Atkins as his pick to replace Gensler as SEC chair in December, many executives in the crypto industry have offered their support. Though members of the Senate Banking Committee had not voted on Atkins’ nomination as of March 27, the SEC seems to have adopted a friendlier approach to crypto firms since Trump took office and appointed Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair of the agency. 

Under Uyeda, the commission has dropped several investigations or enforcement actions against major crypto firms, including Coinbase and Ripple — both of which contributed to political action committees supporting candidates in the 2024 election cycle. Atkins has also disclosed millions of dollars in assets through stakes in Securitize, Pontoro and Patomak.

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