Newly appointed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins criticized the agency’s previous handling of cryptocurrency regulation, saying it created “regulatory uncertainty” that stifled innovation.

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Speaking on Friday at the SEC’s crypto roundtable in Washington, D.C. — his first public appearance since taking office earlier this week — Atkins emphasized the need for a consistent regulatory framework for digital assets.

“Market participants engaging in this technology deserve clear regulatory rules of the road,” Atkins said.

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Atkins signaled a shift in tone from his predecessor, Gary Gensler, who had taken a more aggressive enforcement approach to crypto under the Biden administration.

By contrast, Atkins suggested he would work with lawmakers to craft a more predictable and innovation-friendly policy regime.

“Innovation, unfortunately, has been stifled for the last several years due to market and regulatory uncertainty that the SEC has unfortunately fostered,” he said.

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The roundtable — established under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has branded himself as the ‘Crypto President’ — was launched with the mandate to assess how securities laws apply to digital assets.

Tensions between the crypto sector and the SEC have grown in recent years, particularly during a string of high-profile enforcement actions that some in the industry viewed as regulatory overreach.

Atkins, who has previously advised crypto firms, is widely expected to pursue a more constructive dialogue with the industry.

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Even before his appointment, the SEC had begun to ease its stance, pausing enforcement actions and moving toward drafting sector-specific rules. Since Trump’s electoral victory, there has been an influx of crypto-linked ETF applications to the SEC as well.

Despite Atikin’s optimistic take, Bitcoin (BTC) slipped by 0.8% in the past hour to trade below $95,000. Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple’s native token XRP (XRP) dipped as much as 0.7%, while Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) slumped as much as 1%.

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