Paul Atkins, nominated to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has secured a crucial vote in the Senate Banking Committee. The vote was split along partisan lines, with not a single Democrat supporting his nomination. This suggests a smooth confirmation process is likely as he is widely anticipated to be confirmed. 50 years old former SEC commissioner Atkins will now move forward to face a full senate, after taking over following Gary Gensler’s departure on January 20th. Mark Uyeda is currently serving as Acting Chairman during this transition period. While the SEC has already established a cryptocurrency task force and abandoned several enforcement cases against major crypto firms under Uyeda’s short-lived leadership, Atkins faces scrutiny from Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who criticized his past decisions on the cusp of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.