A dominant investing narrative emerging from the nomination of longtime securities attorney, former SEC commissioner, and crypto believer Paul Atkins as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission is that he will be great for the $3.5 trillion digital currency business.
President-elect Trump said as much when he announced Atkins as Wall Street’s top cop on Wednesday afternoon (of course, as reported in the Post two weeks ago, he was the front-runner).
Atkins, Trump posted on Social Truth, “recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are critical to making America greater than ever.”
Following the announcement, Bitcoin surged above $100,000. That’s almost a 130% increase in the past year alone, though most of the increase came amid Trump’s promises both during the campaign and after the election to deregulate crypto-mats from the crackdowns created under Joe Biden.
The frenzy surrounding an SEC led by Atkins, who sits on the board of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, a crypto advocacy group, is a major reason for the recent crazy flows in niche cryptos as well.
One such token is XRP, the native currency of payments firm Ripple, which uses blockchain technology to offer cross-border payments that it touts as cheaper than traditional banking. It is probably the highest performing asset trading in the crypto market in recent weeks, and probably in any market during that time.
yes. I know, Bitcoin is up a lot, but XRP has skyrocketed nearly 400 percent over the past year — most of it after Trump’s presidential victory on November 5.
Recall: Trump’s vow to remove SEC chairman and crypto enforcer Gary Gensler on “day one” regarding crypto vote.
One of Trump’s top crypto advisers, Chris Gianacarlo, told me that among the changes he believes the Trump SEC will reverse is Gensler’s heavy hand in the industry.
This could include dropping the regulator’s case against Ripple, which ironically was first brought by Trump SEC chairman Jay Clayton during his first Trump term.
The SEC accused Ripple of refusing to come to the agency and disclose finances while it was selling XRP to build its platform. Gensler continued the case. The federal courts then issued a strange ruling that said XRP that was purchased by small investors on the secondary market did not compel disclosure, but large investors who bought it directly from Ripple had to be disclosed.
Gensler’s SEC wanted the script changed for obvious reasons: Disclosure rules are designed to protect small investors, to give them more rather than less.
So what will Atkins do? There are people in the securities bar ecosystem who know Atkins who say the crypto business won’t get a full regulatory pass for free, given Atkins’ core beliefs that the SEC is at its best when functioning as a consumer protection agency with a strong disclosure. mandated
He may not drop the Ripple issue, they say.
“I can’t see Atkins letting that court precedent stand,” said one securities lawyer who knows Atkins well.
If that’s the case, and Atkins keeps the Ripple case moving, the abundance of XRP will flow quickly, and possibly Bitcoin’s rise as well.
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