BlockBeats News, March 27th, it was revealed that Paul Atkins, the nominee for the chairmanship of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President Trump, holds up to $6 million in crypto-related assets, triggering strong protests from Senator Elizabeth Warren. In a letter to Paul Atkins on Sunday, Warren emphasized that if this former SEC commissioner is appointed, his background as a financial industry advisor and lobbyist could create "significant conflicts of interest." Warren urged Paul Atkins to consider mitigating these potential conflicts of interest by recusing himself from any SEC matters involving his former clients and agreeing not to lobby, advise, or work for any company in the SEC-regulated industry for at least four years after leaving the agency. Her letter requested Atkins to provide a written response by Thursday.

According to Reuters, Atkins' recent financial disclosure shows that his family's wealth amounts to $328 million, mainly derived from his wife's family ties to roofing supply giant TAMKO Building Products. His risk consultancy firm, Patomak Global Partners, is valued between $25 million and $50 million, with the value of his crypto-related assets reaching up to $6 million, including $1 million in equity in crypto custody company Anchorage Digital and tokenization company Securitize (Atkins served on the board of Securitize until February). He holds up to $5 million in shares of the crypto investment firm Off the Chain Capital, of which he is a limited partner. Off the Chain's investments include private shares of major crypto companies such as Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Kraken, as well as Mt. Gox bankruptcy claims. Atkins has pledged to divest from Off the Chain Capital within 120 days of confirmation and, according to the same document, he has also resigned from the boards of the Chamber of Digital Commerce and the Digital Chamber Token Alliance.