Paul Atkins Says Tokenization Boom Imminent, Ditches SEC ‘Regulation by Enforcement’

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins told CNBC on Wednesday that the “rules have not been clear” when it comes to regulating digital assets in the United States and hinted at the “imminent” boom in tokenization as a whole.

In a July 2 appearance on “Squawk Box,” Atkins claimed that tokenization is “the next step” in order to have “much more efficiency” across markets.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins joined @SquawkCNBC this morning to discuss stock tokenization, making private markets more accessible to the public, and top priorities for the SEC. https://t.co/ed3zYMk1tO

“Tokenization is imminent, and we at the SEC should be focused on how we advance innovation in the marketplace,” Atkins said.

“The rules of the road have not been clear,” he added. “We had regulation by reinforcement—that day’s over. For now, my whole goal is to make things transparent from the regulatory aspect.”

According to a June 2025 report from Binance Research, real-world asset tokenization skyrocketed by over 260% in the first half of the year alone.

Meanwhile, May 2025 figures from the same report show that the crypto market rose 10.3% in spite of market uncertainty. The data indicates an overall trend toward digitized finance, marking a major win for crypto proponents.

Atkins’ comments come just three months after he was officially sworn in as SEC head by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Atkins has been widely embraced as a pro-crypto pick to lead the federal regulator, in part thanks to reports that he holds up to $6 million in crypto holdings.

The SEC has dropped several lawsuits against key players in the crypto industry in recent months amid broader regulatory changes to the digital asset sector as a whole.

“A top priority of my chairmanship will be to provide a formal regulatory foundation for digital assets,” Atkins said during his April 22 swearing-in.

“Through a rational, coherent, and principled approach, we will work to ensure that the United States is the best and most secure place in the world to do business,” he added.

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