Paul S. Atkins
Paul S. Atkins is an American businessman who has served as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since April 2025. Atkins also previously served as a commissioner at the SEC from 2002 to 2008. Known for advocating reduced regulatory burdens and promoting financial innovation, Atkins has been a vocal supporter of free-market principles in regulatory policy.
Early life and education
Originally from Lillington, North Carolina, Atkins grew up in Tampa, Florida. He received his A.B. from Wofford College in 1980 and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Kappa Alpha Order.Career
Atkins began his career as a lawyer in New York City with Davis Polk & Wardwell, focusing on a wide range of corporate transactions for U.S. and foreign clients, including public and private securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He worked in the Paris office for two and a half years, and in 1988 was admitted to provide legal advice in France.Atkins was a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from July 9, 2002 until his term's completion in August 2008. He served with chairmen Harvey Pitt, William H. Donaldson, and Christopher Cox.
In 2009, Atkins founded Patomak Global Partners, a financial services firm specializing in regulatory compliance and whose clients would come to include Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, and the US Chamber of Commerce.
In December 2016, Atkins joined a business forum assembled by President-elect Trump to provide strategic and policy advice on economic issues.
Atkins was co-chair of the Token Alliance, a cryptocurrency advocacy group for the Chamber of Digital Commerce. He also served on the advisory board of Securitize, Inc., a cryptocurrency firm.
Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
In December 2024, Atkins was nominated by President-elect Trump to be chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was sworn in on April 21, 2025.In July 2025, Atkins sold his stake in Patomak Global Partners to an undisclosed buyer for between $25 million and $50 million.
In September 2025, Atkins affirmed plans to reduce reporting requirements for public companies in the United States, changing reporting timelines from quarterly to every six months. He expanded upon those plans in December at an SEC sponsored event, "Revitalizing American Markets" in honor of the Nation's 250th anniversary.
At the time of his appointment to the SEC, Atkins owned $6 million worth of holdings in crypto-related businesses. During his confirmation, he pledged from these crypto-related businesses. He has since then filed paperwork listing millions dollars worth of investments he sold, but those lists did not include the crypto-related businesses. During his time at the SEC, the SEC has dropped or settled numerous lawsuits with cryptocurrency companies and adopted a lax regulatory approach to cryptocurrency.