Speculation Builds Over Donald Trump’s Anticipated Nomination of Paul Atkins as SEC Chair, RSR Token Surges 88% to Multiyear High

This comes amid reports that Trump will appoint Atkins, who has been advising the Reserve Rights Foundation, the issuing organization behind the RSR token.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering nominating Paul Atkins to be the new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a move that has helped to fuel an 88% rally in the Reserve Rights (RSR) token.

According to a new report, Trump is set to announce his picks for the SEC chair and other key administration officials soon. While the identity of the soon-to-be-confirmed new SEC chair remains unknown, the crypto community is looking ahead to the decision.

Atkins, a corporate attorney who has advised the issuing organization behind the RSR token, Reserve Rights Foundation, is said to be the leading candidate among crypto enthusiasts. Atkins and Reserve have helped to fuel a rise in the token’s value as investors hitch the potential SEC appointment to a good atmosphere for the cryptocurrency industry.

Among those who have expressed support for Atkins' nomination is Reserve co-creator and CEO Nevin Freeman. In a Nov. 28 post, Freeman noted that Atkins was involved with the Reserve project “early on” but is not actively consulting for Reserve now.

Freeman went on to state that Atkins has been open to working for crypto clients in his consultancy since 2017, adding that he would be “very excited to work with him on productive rulemaking because I think he would do it in a principled way.”

Freeman's comments come after Atkins told Freeman in 2017 that he had been approached by several initial coin offering (ICO) teams and planned to begin advising them. Atkins reportedly told Freeman that he was interested in working with crypto clients because he found the technology “interesting” and wanted to “learn more about the space.”

Freeman also highlighted Atkins' openness to engaging with and talking to crypto-focused projects, something that could bode well for the cryptocurrency industry if he were to become SEC chair.

Freeman further noted that Atkins is now able to advise on SEC matters following a two-year cooling-off period after leaving the regulator in 2020. Freeman said he had spoken with Atkins in 2021 about crypto and the SEC, and Atkins had told him that he was “prohibited from working on anything SEC-related for two years after leaving the agency.”

Freeman added that Atkins had told him that he planned to use the time away from the SEC to “advise crypto projects on best practices for legal compliance and regulatory engagement," which he began doing in 2022.

Freeman concluded his post by stating that he believes Atkins is a “good pick” for SEC chair and that he is “personally excited about the prospect of him being nominated.”

Freeman also noted that Atkins' nomination would likely be a good outcome for the cryptocurrency industry, particularly given the recent departure of SEC senior counsel J.J. Stebbins.

Freeman said that Stebbins had been “incredibly helpful to the crypto community over the last few years,” and his departure from the SEC could have been a negative sign for the industry if not for Atkins' potential nomination.

Freeman added that Stebbins had been “instrumental in helping the SEC understand crypto better and in shaping some of the agency's recent actions on the matter,” including the regulator's recent settlement with decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap.

Freeman further noted that Stebbins had been involved in discussions on how to define digital asset securities, which could have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency industry.

Freeman concluded his post by stating that he believes Atkins is a “good pick” for SEC chair and that he is “personally excited about the prospect of him being nominated.”

Freeman added that Atkins' nomination would likely be a good outcome for the cryptocurrency industry, particularly given the recent departure of SEC senior counsel J.J. Stebbins.

Freeman said that Stebbins had been “incredibly helpful to the crypto community over the last few years,” and his departure from the SEC could have been a negative sign for the industry if not for Atkins' potential nomination.

Freeman went on to state that Stebbins had been “instrumental in helping the SEC understand crypto better and in shaping some of the agency's recent actions on the matter,” including the regulator's recent settlement with decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap.

Freeman further noted that Stebbins had been involved in discussions on how to define digital asset securities, which could have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency industry.

Freeman's comments follow a report on Nov. 21 from cryptocurrency attorney John Deaton, who is also among those expressing support for Atkins as the next SEC chair.

Deaton, who is known for representing XRP holders in the ongoing case against Ripple Labs, said that he found a pro-crypto lawyer who had heard from people in Washington, D.C., that Atkins is the pick for SEC chair.

Deaton added that he had heard positive things about Atkins from others in the crypto space, including Freeman, and that he