Paul Atkins has officially taken the helm as the new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), signaling a major potential shift in crypto regulation. Sworn in on April 21 following a narrow 52-44 Senate confirmation vote, Atkins replaces acting chair Mark Uyeda and becomes the 34th SEC chairman.

Atkins, who previously served as SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, expressed gratitude for the opportunity and pledged to uphold the agency’s mission of investor protection and market integrity. However, industry insiders are more focused on his perceived openness to digital assets—a stark contrast to the more aggressive stance under former chair Gary Gensler during the Biden era.

His confirmation faced delays due to required financial disclosures, which revealed up to $6 million in crypto-related holdings. These include investments in Anchorage Digital, a crypto custody firm, and Securitize, a blockchain tokenization platform. His crypto connections have raised expectations that the SEC under Atkins may ease its enforcement approach.

The commission has already rolled back several enforcement actions against crypto firms such as Coinbase, Gemini, Uniswap, and Consensys. The new SEC leadership is now tasked with evaluating over 70 pending crypto-related exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications.

Bloomberg analysts predict a chaotic year ahead, with filings covering a wide range of assets—from mainstream coins like XRP and Solana to meme tokens like Dogecoin and novelty ETFs tied to “2x Melania.” The strategy? A “spaghetti cannon” approach, where issuers submit as many applications as possible, hoping some gain approval under the new leadership.

With Atkins now leading the SEC, the U.S. crypto landscape could be on the verge of its most significant regulatory pivot yet.