Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins speaks to reporters after giving opening remarks at a roundtable with the SEC's Crypto Task Force at the Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters on April 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. WASHINGTON — SEC Chair Paul Atkins said on Friday that innovation in the crypto industry "has been stifled for the last several years," and that changes are sorely needed. "The market itself seems to indicate that the current framework badly needs attention," Atkins said at a roundtable held by the SEC's recently launched Crypto Task Force.

The half-day session at the SEC's headquarters in Washington, D.C., is a notable event for Atkins, and comes just weeks after the SEC formally dropped its long-running lawsuit against Ripple, a symbolic end to a four-year battle between the regulator and the crypto industry. Crypto leaders, regulators and legal experts were on hand to primarily discuss the issue of custody, or the safeguarding of digital assets. Atkins delivered the opening remarks alongside SEC Commissioners Caroline Crenshaw, Mark Uyeda, and Hester Peirce.

The group is attempting to set the tone for a new era of crypto regulation, one that seeks to change the approach from adversarial to collaborative. Atkins told reporters on the sidelines of the session that he was open to a broad reassessment of crypto-related rules. "We have, I think, a large gambit of ability to operate," he said.

"It's always good to have Congress' input, and if there's a statute to back up what we're doing, then all the better — but I think we have ample room to maneuver." The crypto industry was critical to President Donald Trump's election victory in November, pumping money into his campaign as well as supporting congressional candidates viewed as friendly to its efforts, following a tumultuous four years during Joe Biden's presidency.