As Democrats gain in odds to take U.S. House, Waters bashes SEC chair on crypto

Representative Maxine Waters, the likely future chair of the House Financial Services Committee should Democrats win the U.S. House majority, has strongly criticized Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins over his handling of cryptocurrency enforcement. Waters sent a letter demanding Atkins testify before the committee regarding the dismissal or stay of significant enforcement actions against crypto firms like Coinbase, Binance, and Justin Sun, who were accused of securities law violations. Waters argued that the committee has not scrutinized the SEC's rationale for abandoning these cases, noting that some terminations were announced before the commission officially voted, suggesting Atkins' office played an "unusually active role" in negotiating settlements. She further criticized Atkins for framing the SEC's agenda as an instrument of the Trump administration and implementing policy shifts through staff statements rather than formal rules, which she contends violates the Administrative Procedure Act and hides influencing interests from public view.

(Source：CoinDesk)