SEC Chair Paul Atkins spoke today at the Commission’s Crypto Roundtable titled “DeFi and the American Spirit.” During his speech, the head of the Commission made a strong case for the self-custody aspect of crypto assets — to the point of describing cryptocurrencies as “private property”, and arguing that protecting one’s private property is “a core foundational American value.”
Atkins also highlighted the importance of having individuals responsible for their own assets in personal digital wallets, arguing that excessive regulation could impose excessive costs and restrict Americans from fully taking part in the market.
“The right to have self-custody of one’s private property should not disappear when one logs on to the internet,” Atkins stated, advocating for greater flexibility for market participants to hold and manage their crypto without forced reliance on intermediaries.
He also pointed out that restrictions on self-custody could stifle innovation in staking and other on-chain activities, preventing broader adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi).
Atkins’ remarks come at a time when U.S. regulators continue debating crypto custody laws, including whether centralized exchanges should maintain stricter control over user assets. His stance aligns with industry voices pushing for clearer and less restrictive policies, ensuring that individual ownership of digital assets remains a core principle in the evolving financial landscape.
Atkins Goes Off on Prior Administration
The new SEC Chair had no intent of hiding his dissatisfaction with the previous administration led by former Chair Gary Gensler. At one point during his speech, Atkins made harsh remarks about Gensler’s actions, what many in the industry describe as “regulation by enforcement”.
“The prior U.S. government administration discouraged Americans from participating in these market-based systems by asserting through lawsuits, speeches, regulation, and threatened regulatory action that participants and staking-as-a-service providers may be engaged in securities transactions.”
For the longest time, Gensler’s Commission went after staking services. At the time, the SEC argued that staking more closely resembled financial rewards for holding a security, like stockholders get paid dividends sporadically.
Now, however, the SEC appears to have dropped this argument as Atkins and other commissioners argue that staking is a fundamental mechanism of blockchain networks rather than a securities transaction.
This shift in stance marks a great departure from the previous enforcement-heavy approach under Gensler. Under the new administration, the Commission has already dropped several lawsuits against crypto and DeFi firms, signaling a broader shift toward policy-driven regulation rather than enforcement actions.
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