US Senate Approves Paul Atkins as New SEC Chairman

By Kapil Rajyaguru

US Senate Approves Paul Atkins as New SEC Chairman

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed Paul Atkins as the new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair. This is after his nomination was cleared in a 52-44 Senate vote on Wednesday, April 9.

Atkins is set to replace Mark Uyeda, who has been serving as the acting SEC chair since January 20 following the resignation of Gary Gensler.

Atkins is expected to adopt a more favorable stance on crypto regulation in line with the Trump administration’s efforts to lower regulatory hurdles and strengthen the domestic digital asset industry.

In a testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last month, the 66-year-old named the creation of a digital asset regulatory framework as a “top priority.” He criticized the existing lack of clear guidelines, arguing it causes confusion and suppresses innovation.

Trump Signs Resolution Killing IRS DeFi Broker Rule

US President Donald Trump has signed a joint congressional resolution overturning a Biden administration-era rule that would have required decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.

Set to take effect in 2027, the so-called IRS DeFi broker rule would have expanded the tax authority’s existing reporting requirements to include DeFi platforms, requiring them to disclose gross proceeds from crypto sales, including information regarding taxpayers involved in the transactions.

Trump formally killed the measure by signing off the resolution on April 10, marking the first time a crypto bill has ever been signed into law, Representative Mike Carey, who backed the bill, said in a statement.

Bitcoin Reserve Bills Advance In New Hampshire, Florida

New Hampshire’s House and Florida’s House insurance and banking committee have respectively advanced bills allowing their states to create Bitcoin reserves.

New Hampshire’s House passed its Bitcoin reserve bill, HB302, in a 192-179 vote on April 10 which will now head to the Senate. The state is now the fourth to pass a Bitcoin reserve bill through one chamber, joining Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma.

If HB302 clears New Hampshire’s Senate and Governor Kelly Ayotte signs it into law it would allow the state’s treasurer to use 10% of the state’s general fund and other authorized funds to invest in precious metals and certain digital assets. The bill also sets out how they should be custodied. The bill specifies that only cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of over $500 billion would be eligible for investment, a criteria that only Bitcoin currently meets.

Meanwhile on April 10, Florida’s House Insurance and Banking Committee passed the state’s Bitcoin reserve bill, HB487, with a unanimous vote. The bill has three committees to clear before it progresses to Florida’s House.

Similar to New Hampshire’s bill, HB487 would allow Florida’s chief financial officer and the State Board of Administration to invest up to 10% of certain state funds — including the General Revenue Fund and the Budget Stabilization Fund — into Bitcoin.

VanEck Confirms China and Russia Are Settling Energy Transactions in Bitcoin

“China and Russia have reportedly begun settling some energy transactions in Bitcoin and other digital assets,” said VanEck Head of Digital Assets Research Matthew Sigel in a company blog post on April 8.

These are not the only two nations trying to de-dollarize during Donald Trump’s trade war. Bolivia has announced plans to import electricity using crypto, and French energy utility EDF is exploring whether it can mine Bitcoin with surplus electricity, he added.

21Shares Files for SEC Approval to Launch Spot Dogecoin ETF

Zürich-based digital asset manager 21Shares has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for approval to launch a spot Dogecoin ETF. The proposed fund would track the performance of the OG meme coin, Dogecoin (DOGE).

In its official filing, 21Shares named Coinbase Custody as the proposed custodian for the fund. Specific details, such as the ETF’s ticker, fees, and listing exchange, are yet to be disclosed.

Meanwhile, House of Doge Inc., the corporate arm of the Dogecoin Foundation, will support the Trust with marketing, strategy, and related services. This filing follows similar attempts by other crypto asset managers, including Bitwise and Grayscale, to launch spot Dogecoin ETFs.

US DOJ Disbands Crypto Enforcement Unit

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that it will no longer pursue criminal cases against crypto exchanges, developers, or users involved in regulatory violations.

This follows the disbanding of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), a specialized unit that focused on crypto-related criminal activities.

Instead, the agency will now focus its efforts on prosecuting individuals who victimize digital asset investors or use cryptocurrency for criminal activities like terrorism, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and financial fraud.

Cardano Founder Announces Midnight Airdrop For 37mn User

At the Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, captured the attention of the audience after mentioning plans for an upcoming Midnight airdrop that would be targeting 37 million users across eight major blockchain networks. This includes networks like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, XRP, Solana, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, and Polygon.

Midnight is Cardano’s new privacy-focused sidechain. It allows users to interact with it using their tokens from different blockchains without having to convert their assets. This feature is called “chain abstraction,” which simply means you can use your tokens (whether it’s ADA, ETH, or XRP) on Midnight without changing them.

The Midnight airdrop, named the “Glacier Drop,” will give out two types of tokens: NIGHT, which is the main governance token, and DUST, which will be used for private transactions.

SEC Readies for First Crypto Regulation Roundtable

The SEC’s Crypto Task Force will host a roundtable titled “Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading” on April 11 at the regulator’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Opening remarks will be from acting chairman Mark Uyeda, Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, and Commissioner Peirce. The main roundtable discussion is moderated by Nicholas Losurdo, a Partner at Goodwin Procter, and features diverse panelists, including representatives from traditional finance, crypto companies such as Coinbase, industry associations, and academic institutions.

The series of roundtable discussions were announced in March and include “Know Your Custodian: Key Considerations for Crypto Custody” on April 25, “Tokenization – Moving Assets Onchain: Where TradFi and DeFi Meet” on May 12, and “DeFi and the American Spirit,” on June 6. They are open to the public both in-person via registration and via live webcast.

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