Crypto Industry Optimism Runneth Over as New SEC Chair Paul Atkins Steps Into Office

The new Securities and Exchange Commission chair has barely stepped into his new office, and crypto tycoons are already betting that Paul Atkins will look favourably on the industry.

Crypto exchange Coinbase is planning a massive overhaul of its token listing process this month, a move that could pave the way for a broader range of digital assets to be made available on the platform.

Coinbase has historically maintained a high barrier to entry for tokens seeking to be listed on its exchange. However, that approach may soon be changing, according to statements made by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

In a recent commentary on X, Armstrong highlighted the challenges posed by the vast number of tokens being created each week, a volume that renders it impractical for exchanges to manually evaluate and approve each token for listing.

This development comes amid a broader surge in crypto industry optimism following the appointment of Paul Atkins as the new Securities and Exchange Commission chair.

The move is also expected to benefit fund issuers, with a recent uptick in applications for spot exchange-traded crypto funds being observed in the new year. These funds are also becoming more diverse in their offerings.

Coinbase Optimism

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., is planning a huge shift in its token listing process this month, a change that could make a wider range of digital assets available on the platform.

There's historically been a high barrier to clear to get listed on Coinbase, but that's all changing, said Brian Armstrong, the Coinbase CEO.

Instead of the tedious work of examining each application, he said the company may start blocking listings after letting users decide on which token is actually a scam and which one has bag-pumping promise. Think community notes, but for cryptocurrencies.

“Evaluating each one by one is no longer feasible,” Armstrong said on X, referring to the hundreds of thousands of tokens popping up weekly. “Regulators need to understand that applying for approval for each one is totally infeasible at this point as well (they can't do 1m a week).”

Coinbase Optimism Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., is planning a massive shift in its token listing process this month.

There's historically been a high barrier to clear to get listed on Coinbase, but that's all changing, said Brian Armstrong, the Coinbase CEO.

Instead of the tedious work of examining each application, he said the company may start blocking listings after letting users decide on which token is actually a scam and which one has bag-pumping promise. Think community notes, but for cryptocurrencies.

“Evaluating each one by one is no longer feasible,” Armstrong said on X, referring to the hundreds of thousands of tokens popping up weekly. “Regulators need to understand that applying for approval for each one is totally infeasible at this point as well (they can't do 1m a week).”

Fund issuers are also reading the room. The number of spot exchange-traded crypto funds has soared in the new year. They're also getting a lot more exotic.

There are applications in play for Cardano, Hedera, Litecoin, and a slew of others for Solana and XRP.

Some issuers like Tuttle Capital have gone ahead and even filed leveraged ETF applications for memecoins like TRUMP, MELANIA, and BONK.

No way would these fly under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler. But perhaps industry optimism is edging toward hallucination.

“A leadership change is definitely beneficial for crypto, but the SEC is still a regulator,” Bryan Armour, the director of passive strategies research, North America at Morningstar, told the Financial Times.

Coinbase, the U.S.'s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is planning a major shift in its token listing process this month, a move that could pave the way for a broader range of digital assets to be made available on the platform.

Coinbase has maintained a high barrier to entry for tokens seeking to be listed on its exchange. However, that approach may soon be changing, according to statements made by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

In a recent commentary on X, Armstrong highlighted the challenges posed by the vast number of tokens being created each week, a volume that renders it impractical for exchanges to manually evaluate and approve each token for listing.

This development comes amid a broader surge in crypto industry optimism following the appointment of Paul Atkins as the new Securities and Exchange Commission chair.

The move is also expected to benefit fund issuers, with a recent uptick in applications for spot exchange-traded crypto funds being observed in the new year. These funds are also becoming more diverse in their offerings.