U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins has vowed to curb the strict enforcement strategy enacted under the Biden administration, saying that the regulatory body will warn businesses about compliance issues before they “bash down their door.” At the same time, Atkins, a Trump appointee, will still target “crooks” who deliberately violate the law.
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“You can’t just suddenly come and bash down their door and say ‘uh-uh we caught you, you’re doing something and it’s a technical violation,'” Atkins said in an interview with the Financial Times. He added that he seeks to scrap the perception that the SEC enforces “a lack of due process, a lack of notice, a lack of rule of law.”
SEC Chair Supports Crypto Innovations
Atkins is a proponent of cryptocurrency, marking a sharp contrast to previous SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Unlike Gensler, Atkins holds the belief that most tokens should not be classified as securities and supports creating rules governing the tokenization of stock shares and bonds. The SEC closely scrutinizes securities given the risks of fraud and market manipulation.
Atkins stressed that the SEC plans to go after the real offenders instead of targeting minor technical violations. He also said the agency wants to give businesses, including those in crypto, clear rules so they can innovate without worrying about running into legal trouble.
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