SEC Chair Atkins says crypto innovation 'has been stifled' as regulators push for change

Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Paul Atkins looks on during his swearing-in ceremony, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 22, 2025. WASHINGTON — SEC Chair Paul Atkins said on Friday that innovation in the crypto industry "has been stifled for the last several years," and that changes are sorely needed. "The market itself seems to indicate that the current framework badly needs attention," Atkins said at a roundtable held by the SEC's recently launched Crypto Task Force. The half-day session at the SEC's headquarters in Washington, D.C., is a notable event for Atkins, and comes just weeks after the SEC formally dropped its long-running lawsuit against Ripple, a symbolic end to a four-year battle between the regulator and the crypto industry. Crypto leaders, regulators and legal experts were on hand to primarily discuss the issue of custody, or the safeguarding of digital assets. Atkins delivered the opening remarks alongside SEC Commissioners ... Read full article.