SEC’s Crypto Policy Under Paul Atkins Questioned By Top House Democrat Maxine Waters

Waters’ concerns include dismissed cases involving major crypto firms and questions around regulatory independence.

• Maxine Waters calls for a complete House oversight hearing on the SEC’s crypto policy under Chair Paul Atkins.
• Waters warned that the SEC’s weak enforcement could undermine investor protection and market integrity as crypto adoption accelerates.
• Waters criticizes the dismissal or pause of major crypto enforcement cases, including actions involving Coinbase, Binance, and Justin Sun.

As the SEC retreats from several high-profile cryptocurrency enforcement cases, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters is calling on Congress to step in. The California Democrat has urged a House oversight hearing on the SEC’s approach to cryptocurrency.

In a letter to House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, the California Democrat said the committee has not held a single oversight hearing with SEC Chair Paul Atkins, despite the “rapid, significant, and questionable policy shifts” at the SEC. 

Waters outlined 10 areas she said the proposed oversight hearing should address, including the dismissal of major crypto enforcement actions, concerns over SEC independence and politicization, and what she described as weakening market surveillance.

Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $87,812, down about 2% over the past 24 hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the coin remained in ‘bearish’ territory over the day, with chatter improving from ‘low' to ‘normal’ over the past day.

Waters Questions SEC’s Crypto Enforcement

She accused the SEC of terminating or pausing enforcement actions against multiple crypto firms and individuals accused of violating securities laws, specifically naming Coinbase, Binance, and Justin Sun.

The lawmaker added that “the SEC has terminated or stayed major enforcement actions against multiple crypto companies and individuals that had been credibly accused of major violations of our securities laws,” raising concerns about how those decisions were reached. In some cases, she wrote, “the defendants had announced that the SEC had terminated enforcement actions even before the Commission had taken the actual vote to do so.”

Waters also questioned how the SEC intends to deter fraud and market manipulation as crypto adoption expands, warning that weakened oversight could undermine investor protection and market integrity. 

Maxine Waters had previously raised concerns about the risks associated with cryptocurrency markets and had supported stronger regulatory oversight, citing investor protection and market stability, MSNBC reported in July.

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