Trump SEC Pick Paul Atkins’ Crypto Ties Draw Sen. Warren’s Ire Ahead of Confirmation Hearing

Ahead of his confirmation hearing in front of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee tomorrow, Paul Atkins — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — disclosed having up to $6 million in crypto-related assets, prompting Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to cry foul. Story continues In a Sunday letter to Atkins, Warren stressed that the former SEC commissioner’s background as a consultant and lobbyist for the financial industry could create “significant conflicts of interest” if he is confirmed. “You also have served as an expert witness hired by Wall Street firms accused of engaging in Ponzi schemes and other misconduct that you would now be responsible for investigating as SEC Chair. Furthermore, you have served as a Board Advisor to the Digital Chamber, a registered lobbying group for the crypto industry. In these roles, you and your firm were paid by the same companies that you would now be responsible for regulating,” Warren wrote. “This will raise serious concerns about your impartiality and commitment to serving the public interest if you are confirmed to serve as the next SEC Chair.” Warren urged Atkins to consider mitigating these potential conflicts of interest by recusing himself from any SEC matters involving his former clients, and agreeing not to do any lobbying, consulting or other work for any companies in the industry regulated by the SEC for at least four years after his departure from the agency. Her letter requests a written response from Atkins by Thursday. Another letter, also dated Sunday, asked Atkins a series of questions about how he believed the cryptocurrency industry should be regulated, alongside other matters before the SEC's purview. Atkins’ recent financial disclosures revealed a $328 million family fortune, according to Reuters, largely stemming from his wife’s family ties to roofing supply giant TAMKO Building Products. His risk consultancy firm, Patomak Global Partners — though which Atkins has done consulting for a range of companies, both crypto and traditional finance, and from which he has promised to divest if confirmed — was valued at between $25 and $50 million, Reuters reported. Atkins’ crypto-related assets were valued at up to $6 million, according to a report from Fortune, and include a combined $1 million in equity in crypto custodian Anchorage Digital and tokenization firm Securitize (Atkins held a board seat at Securitize until February). Atkins reported having up to a $5 million stake in the crypto investment firm Off the Chain Capital, where he is a limited partner. Off the Chain’s investments include private shares in big crypto companies like Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Kraken, as well as Mt. Gox bankruptcy claims. In a Tuesday filing with the Office of Government Ethics, Atkins pledged to divest from Off the Chain Capital within 120 days of his confirmation. He has also resigned from his position on the board of the Digital Chamber of Commerce and the Token Alliance of the Chamber of Digital Commerce according to the same filing. Atkins crypto ties are a stark contrast to his predecessor, former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who was known for his so-called “regulation by enforcement” approach to crypto regulation. Ahead of Atkins’ confirmation, the SEC’s current leadership, spearheaded by Acting Chair Mark Uyeda and Commissioner Hester Peirce, have been overhauling the agency’s crypto regulation strategy, inviting industry players to roundtable discussions at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. and backing down a considerable number of investigations and open litigation against crypto companies. However, not everyone that the SEC went after under Gensler is off the hook — the agency has not yet shut its probes into Unicoin or Crypto.com, both of which received Wells notices (a heads up of forthcoming enforcement charges) from the SEC last year. The SEC has shut down investigations into companies including Immutable, OpenSea and Yuga Labs, and ended litigation against companies like Coinbase, Kraken and Ripple since Uyeda took over the agency as acting chair.

Ahead of his confirmation hearing in front of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee tomorrow, Paul Atkins — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — disclosed having up to $6 million in crypto-related assets, prompting Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to cry foul.

Story continues

In a Sunday letter to Atkins, Warren stressed that the former SEC commissioner’s background as a consultant and lobbyist for the financial industry could create “significant conflicts of interest” if he is confirmed.

“You also have served as an expert witness hired by Wall Street firms accused of engaging in Ponzi schemes and other misconduct that you would now be responsible for investigating as SEC Chair. Furthermore, you have served as a Board Advisor to the Digital Chamber, a registered lobbying group for the crypto industry. In these roles, you and your firm were paid by the same companies that you would now be responsible for regulating,” Warren wrote. “This will raise serious concerns about your impartiality and commitment to serving the public interest if you are confirmed to serve as the next SEC Chair.”

Warren urged Atkins to consider mitigating these potential conflicts of interest by recusing himself from any SEC matters involving his former clients, and agreeing not to do any lobbying, consulting or other work for any companies in the industry regulated by the SEC for at least four years after his departure from the agency. Her letter requests a written response from Atkins by Thursday.

Another letter, also dated Sunday, asked Atkins a series of questions about how he believed the cryptocurrency industry should be regulated, alongside other matters before the SEC’s purview.

Atkins’ recent financial disclosures revealed a $328 million family fortune, according to Reuters, largely stemming from his wife’s family ties to roofing supply giant TAMKO Building Products. His risk consultancy firm, Patomak Global Partners — though which Atkins has done consulting for a range of companies, both crypto and traditional finance, and from which he has promised to divest if confirmed — was valued at between $25 and $50 million, Reuters reported.

Atkins’ crypto-related assets were valued at up to $6 million, according to a report from Fortune, and include a combined $1 million in equity in crypto custodian Anchorage Digital and tokenization firm Securitize (Atkins held a board seat at Securitize until February). Atkins reported having up to a $5 million stake in the crypto investment firm Off the Chain Capital, where he is a limited partner. Off the Chain’s investments include private shares in big crypto companies like Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Kraken, as well as Mt. Gox bankruptcy claims.

In a Tuesday filing with the Office of Government Ethics, Atkins pledged to divest from Off the Chain Capital within 120 days of his confirmation. He has also resigned from his position on the board of the Digital Chamber of Commerce and the Token Alliance of the Chamber of Digital Commerce according to the same filing.

Atkins crypto ties are a stark contrast to his predecessor, former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who was known for his so-called “regulation by enforcement” approach to crypto regulation. Ahead of Atkins’ confirmation, the SEC’s current leadership, spearheaded by Acting Chair Mark Uyeda and Commissioner Hester Peirce, have been overhauling the agency’s crypto regulation strategy, inviting industry players to roundtable discussions at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. and backing down a considerable number of investigations and open litigation against crypto companies.

However, not everyone that the SEC went after under Gensler is off the hook — the agency has not yet shut its probes into Unicoin or Crypto.com, both of which received Wells notices (a heads up of forthcoming enforcement charges) from the SEC last year.

The SEC has shut down investigations into companies including Immutable, OpenSea and Yuga Labs, and ended litigation against companies like Coinbase, Kraken and Ripple since Uyeda took over the agency as acting chair.

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Around half of SNP voters back nuclear power in energy mix – poll

Roughly half of the SNP’s voters believe nuclear power should be part of Scotland’s mix of clean energy generation, a poll suggests, despite the party’s longstanding opposition to it.Polling for the campaign group Britain Remade found 52% of those who voted for the party in 2021 believe nuclear power should be included in Scotland’s energy mix to meet the 2045 net zero target.
Meanwhile, 57% of those who voted for the party in last year’s general election felt the same way, the poll found.
A total of 56% of Scots thought nuclear power should be part of Scotland’s clean energy mix to meet the targets, while 23% disagreed, and 21% said they did not know.
Opinium surveyed 1,000 Scottish adults between April 22 and 25.
Britain Remade describes itself as a grassroots campaign for economic growth.
Founder Sam Richards said: “The message from our polling is clear: when it comes to safe and reliable nuclear power, the SNP is not just out of step with the majority of Scots – they’re at odds with a huge number of their own supporters.
“It’s time for the SNP to stop saying ‘no’ to new nuclear and start listening to the people, the experts, and the communities who know what’s at stake.
“Investing in a new generation of nuclear power is not just critical if Scotland is to hit its 2045 net zero target – it is essential for Scotland’s economy. Grangemouth could be transformed by SMR (small modular reactor) technology, but the SNP’s opposition is standing in the way.”
Scotland nuclear energy
Scotland has one remaining active nuclear reactor, at Torness in East Lothian, which is due to shut down in 2030.
Last week the deactivated Hunterston B power station was declared “nuclear free” as all fuel elements were removed ahead of decommissioning.

Hunterston B nuclear power station in Ayrshire, which was due to be decommissioned in 2016, has had its operational licence extended until 2023Credit: James Williamson

Labour MSP Martin Whitfield said: “If we don’t act soon to end this ideological opposition, Scotland will lose its nuclear energy capacity entirely, damaging jobs and the economy, including East Lothian.
“A Scottish Labour Government will end the block on new nuclear, delivering zero carbon nuclear energy, kickstarting economic growth and bringing significant investment into East Lothian and the rest of Scotland.”

Conservative MP John Lamont said: “It’s absolutely ridiculous for the Nationalists to ignore the majority of Scots who support the use of more nuclear power, especially since it is clean energy that doesn’t harm the environment.”
However the SNP argued nuclear power projects remain too expensive to be a viable alternative to renewable power.
MSP Bill Kidd said: “Our focus is delivering a just transition that supports communities and creates long-term economic opportunities to build a truly sustainable future.
“Nuclear remains one of the most costly forms of energy with projects like Hinkley Point C running billions over budget and years behind schedule.
“In contrast, Scotland’s net zero transition is already delivering thousands of green jobs across energy, construction, innovation, and engineering. This number will continue to grow.
“Simply, renewables are cheaper to produce and develop, create more jobs, and are safer than nuclear as they don’t leave behind radioactive waste that will be deadly for generations.
“While Labour funnels billions into slow, centralised projects, the SNP is focused on creating real, sustainable jobs in Scotland now.”

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Synaptec aims to tackle million pound wind farm cable problem

Glasgow-based Synaptec has developed new technology designed to tackle the issue of cable failures on offshore wind farms that can cost operators millions.The company’s Greenlight provides automated monitoring of the joints and terminations in a cable network, delivering early warnings of emerging faults before they become failures.
The system is based on Synaptec’s Distributed Electrical Sensing (DES) technology, which was Synaptec previously deployed on the latest phase of the Dogger Bank wind farm.
Cable failures are a major issue facing offshore wind farms, with a single fault in transmission networks and offshore wind developments capable of costing up to £1m per day in lost revenue.
Allianz, the insurer for UK offshore wind projects including Dogger Bank and East Anglia Three, warned that damage to cables is the main cause of offshore wind insurance claims, accounting for 53% of claims across its global portfolio from 2014-2020.
Around 70% of these failures originate in the joints and terminations rather than the cables themselves.
The Global Underwater Hub (GUH) recently launched a forum to tackle rising costs and reliability issues facing subsea cable systems on the UK’s offshore wind farms.
Synaptec vice-president of applications, Dr Steven Blair, said: “Greenlight gives operators control over the most unpredictable and expensive aspect of offshore cable operations and maintenance.
“It’s a system designed not just to collect data, but to deliver clear, early, and location-specific insight that finds the early warning signs of failure.

“The return on investment is immediate – it pays for itself the first time it pre-empts an issue that would otherwise shut down a wind farm.”
Synaptec has made the first commercial installations of Greenlight with offshore wind operators and transmission systems internationally. There are plans for further large-scale installations throughout 2025.
The firm previously raised £6.5m in funding last year, with participation from Megger Group, Proserv, and Equity Gap.
The company aims to use the funds to support its expansion, including the development of new manufacturing facilities in Scotland.
The company had previously said that it aims to increase its revenues fourfold in the next two to three years, along with doubling its headcount as it takes advantage of the 24.4GW pipeline of floating offshore wind capacity off Scotland’s shores.

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