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Bitcoin (BTC) shattered the $100,000 milestone for the first time after President-elect Donald Trump announced his new pick to chair the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to a new report by AP News, Trump has picked former SEC Commissioner and current Patomak Partners chief executive Paul Atkins to head the regulatory agency.
As stated by Trump on Truth social media, according to AP,
“[Atkins] believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, and that provide capital to make our economy the best in the world. He also recognizes that digital assets and other innovations are crucial to making America greater than ever before.”
Furthermore, Trump said that he is a “proven leader for common sense regulations.”
Atkins will replace Gary Gensler as Chairman of the SEC. Gensler, who stepped down from this position last month, is known for his hardline stance on crypto assets as under his helm, the SEC took several high-profile enforcement actions against prominent crypto firms, including Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and Ripple Labs.
After his tenure as a Commissioner of the SEC from 2002-2008, Atkins has opined that there is too much market regulation, according to the report.
In 2022, while at Patomak, Atkins penned a letter noting that as Americans are becoming more familiar with crypto assets, they may become interested in purchasing them for their retirement plans.
News of the announcement sent the top crypto asset by market cap flying, as BTC went from a low of $94,890 on December 4th to a peak of $103,425, a new all-time high. It has since stabilized and is trading for $101,194 at time of writing, a 6.5% gain on the day.
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