In testimony to the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul S. Atkins set out his priorities for refocusing the agency on investor protection, capital formation, and fair, orderly, and efficient markets, alongside changes to the SEC’s rulemaking approach and internal organization. He said the SEC will return rulemaking to “regular order” with adequate comment periods, stronger attention to overlapping requirements and cumulative burdens, and greater emphasis on cost-benefit analysis. A core policy focus is developing a “rational regulatory framework” for crypto asset markets covering issuance, custody, and trading, with policymaking through notice-and-comment rulemaking rather than regulation-by-enforcement and enforcement targeted at established obligations, particularly fraud and manipulation. The Crypto Task Force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce has held four roundtables so far, with a further roundtable planned on decentralized finance; Commissioner Mark Uyeda will serve as the SEC’s “ambassador” to the International Organization of Securities Commissions, and Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw will lead work on the SEC’s administrative law proceedings framework in light of relevant Supreme Court rulings. Operationally, Atkins reported a 15% decline in SEC headcount since the start of the fiscal year (about 4,200 employees and 1,700 contractors) and said targeted reorganizations are planned, beginning with a request for congressional approval to disband the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology. He also directed a comprehensive review of the EDGAR system following a masking error that inadvertently made certain Form N-PORT data fields public for reports filed between Feb. 3, 2025, and May 8, 2025, noting the issue was corrected and did not affect filings made after May 8. The testimony further flagged potential lease terminations for the SEC’s Los Angeles and Philadelphia regional offices (with discussions ongoing and the leases not yet terminated) and reiterated that the Section 31 transaction fee rate for most covered sales was set at USD 0 per million effective May 14, 2025, after the SEC collected its full fiscal year 2025 appropriation.
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission 2025-05-20
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair outlines crypto rulemaking agenda and seeks Congress approval to disband FinHub
SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins prioritized investor protection, capital formation, and efficient markets, advocating for a rational crypto regulatory framework and regular rulemaking. Key updates include a 15% SEC headcount decline, plans to disband the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology, and a comprehensive EDGAR system review after a data masking error. The SEC set the Section 31 transaction fee rate at USD 0 per million after meeting its fiscal year 2025 appropriation.