Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Paul Atkins stated that the agency is focused on cryptocurrencies — this sector has become a key area of work for him. He spoke about this during a roundtable held on Monday, September 29.
The event was organized to coordinate the efforts of the SEC with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). These two agencies are considered the main financial regulators in the U.S.
They are the ones responsible for setting rules for digital assets. According to the current division of powers, the SEC oversees cryptocurrencies recognized as securities, while the CFTC may soon receive additional powers from Congress — to take control over a larger share of crypto transactions in the country.
SEC and CFTC join forces to bring order to crypto regulation
Paul Atkins and acting head of the CFTC Caroline Pham said they want to clearly separate what is considered a security in crypto and what is a commodity asset. In their opinion, this will make life easier for startups and applications operating in both markets at once.
Atkins emphasized that this can only be achieved by working together. The SEC and CFTC, in his words, should act as one team.
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These statements were made at a closed meeting with lawyers and industry representatives, which took place at the SEC headquarters in Washington.
At the same time, Atkins separately noted: without a proper ‘technical base’ no cooperation will work. And Pham summed it up briefly:
‘A new stage is beginning. The struggle for influence is over.’
Despite progress, the CFTC still has no permanent head
Although such emotional unity between the SEC and CFTC is rare — usually their positions differ, it is worth noting that the CFTC still does not have a permanent head.
According to sources, having such a leader is extremely important: it will allow the agency to stick to a unified strategy even in the event of possible personnel changes.
Commenting on the situation, Caroline Pham tried to dispel doubts:
‘There is no need to be afraid, to doubt, or to feel uncertain — the CFTC is moving forward with confidence.’
Thus she responded to the popular abbreviation in the crypto community FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt).
Atkins, in turn, praised Pham’s leadership qualities and added that thanks to her work, joint SEC and CFTC initiatives in the crypto market are developing at full speed.
Atkins hinted at a turning point in the crypto industry — everything depends on Trump and new initiatives
Journalists asked Atkins about the role of Donald Trump in crypto history. He replied that it was Trump who launched the processes that are now affecting the market, and reminded about his plans to sign a market structure bill by the end of 2025. According to Atkins, all that remains is to watch how things develop.
He also noted that the SEC intends to pay more attention to tokenization. But for this to work in practice, time is needed — in his estimation, it may take a year or two to develop the necessary rules. At the same time, he believes the direction has huge potential, and the framework is only just being formed.
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As for rumors about a merger of the SEC and CFTC, Atkins immediately dismissed them — according to him, all this is nothing more than fantasy.
The roundtable was a continuation of a series of meetings between the SEC and the crypto community. This time, not only agency representatives but also real industry players joined the discussion: Kraken, Crypto․com, Polymarket, Kalshi and Robinhood Markets.
