Crypto market cheers as Paul Atkins becomes leading contender to chair US SEC

Crypto market was back in green on Thursday after some profit booking in the last few sessions as US president-elect Donald Trump's eyes pro-crypto Paul Atkins to replace Gary Gensler as SEC Chair. The digital asset class gave a big cheer to the possible news, pushing some tokes sharply higher.

Bitcoin, which was rushing towards the $100,000 mark, was seen around $95,500-mark on Thursday, rebounding from lows of below $93,000. Just a week ago, Bitcoin scaled its new all-time highs $99,655.50 on November 23 but gave up some gains, around 5 per cent to traded at 95,500 on Thursday, 2 pm, the data from coinmarketcap suggested.

Among other top coins, Ethereum and BNB surged about 6 per cent each, while XRP, Cardano and Dogecoin gained 3-4 per cent in the last 24 hours. Ethereum Name Services, Ethena, Pyth Network, Render and Uniswap soared 10-40 per cent during the day.

Crypto market participants have given this news a thumbs up. They believe the Atkins' approach has the potential to redefine the crypto landscape and usher in a new era of progress. However, the crypto market has taken a breather after a sharp rally led by Donald Trump's victory earlier this month. Trump has presented himself as a crypto supporter

Paul Atkins as the lead pick to head the SEC under Donald Trump’s upcoming administration has boosted the sentiment of the crypto community, said Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO at Mudrex. "Known for his pro-innovation stance and crypto expertise, the crypto market could see a wave of positive reforms helping achieve Trump’s vision of setting up a strategic Bitcoin reserve."

His past experience in the financial sector founding Patomak Global Partners and his vocal advocate for fintech show the kind of growth he would bring to the crypto industry. The confidence in having a pro-crypto leadership at the SEC will make it easier for institutions to commit to the asset class, bringing more inflows into the space and driving mainstream adoption of crypto, Patel said.

According to Coinmarketcap's data, the global crypto marketcap rose more than 2 per cent in the last 24 hours to $3.3 trillion mark, a 2.32% increase over the last day. However, the total crypto market volume dropped over 10 per cent the last 24 hours to $200.61 billion.  Bitcoin’s dominance has dropped to 57.11 per cent in the crypto space.

There is growing optimism for the development of clearer regulatory frameworks under Atkins' leadership, said Balaji Srihari, Business Head at CoinSwitch. "A more collaborative SEC could bridge the gap between crypto firms and traditional financial institutions, paving the way for growth and increased investment," he said.

This includes initiatives like safe harbors and regulatory sandboxes designed to balance innovation with robust consumer protection. Such measures could address the concerns of institutional investors wary of regulatory uncertainty, potentially unlocking significant capital inflows into the crypto market, Srihari added.