SEC Chair Paul Atkins Shifts Focus to Fraud, Moves Away From Technical Penalties

U.S. SEC Chair Paul Atkins says the regulator will shift enforcement priorities away from punishing technical rule breaches and instead focus on clear cases of fraud. In an interview with the Financial Times, Atkins contrasted his approach with former chair Gary Gensler’s aggressive penalties, pledging to rebuild trust through due process and predictability. Atkins argued that companies should be given time to comply before sanctions are imposed, rejecting revenue-based fines. He cited Bernie Madoff as an example of the type of fraud that deserves the harshest consequences, while warning against excessive enforcement for minor violations. On crypto, Atkins supports frameworks that allow tokenized securities and blockchain trading within the U.S., pointing to the collapse of FTX as proof of the dangers of offshore operations. He emphasized that U.S. oversight works, while also reminding firms that securities laws apply when trading tokenized stocks. Atkins added that he believes most crypto tokens are not securities.

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