As Democrats gain in odds to take U.S. House, Waters bashes SEC chair on crypto

Policy Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email As Democrats gain in odds to take U.S. House, Waters bashes SEC chair on crypto Maxine Waters, the top Democrat who may lead the House Financial Services Committee again if Democrats prevail, has a crypto bone to pick with SEC's Atkins. By Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Aoyon Ashraf Dec 29, 2025, 9:19 p.m. Representative Maxine Waters wants a hearing to ask SEC Chairman Atkins about his crypto decisions, among other things. (screen capture, House Financial Services Committee) What to know : Representative Maxine Waters, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, called for a hearing with Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins to discuss his crypto moves and other topics. Her party has a strong chance to take back the House of Representatives majority in 2026, potentially moving her back into the spot as committee chair. With Democrats favored at 75% to win the U.S. House of Representatives majority in 2026 on prediction market Kalshi, Representative Maxine Waters’ new criticism of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins’ crypto policies could gain more energy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Though Congress remains on its winter break, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee called Monday for Atkins to testify before the committee, where she wants him to answer for the dismissal of significant digital assets industry enforcement actions. "The SEC has terminated or stayed major enforcement actions against multiple crypto companies and individuals that had been credibly accused of major violations of our securities laws, including Coinbase, Binance, and Justin Sun," Waters wrote in a letter sent to the panel's Republican chairman, Representative French Hill. "The committee has not scrutinized the SEC’s rationale for abandoning these matters, nor how the agency intends to deter fraud and manipulation in markets touching millions of retail investors." Waters argued that some of the companies freed from SEC cases announced the terminations before the commission actually voted on them, and she contended that Atkins' office "took an unusually active role in negotiating an end to these cases." Read More: Most Influential: Paul Atkins The SEC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from CoinDesk. After the start of President Donald Trump's administration, a leadership change at the agency — and the eventual confirmation of Atkins as its chairman — led to the regulator abandoning a lengthy list of legal battles it had waged with the crypto industry. Almost all of its pending cases were dropped, and it backed out of several ongoing court disputes. Trump has made it his mission to boost the U.S. crypto industry, and Atkins has declared that same mission the top priority at the SEC, which was established as an independent federal regulator not meant to operate under the direct management of the White House. Waters, who has at times been an active negotiator on crypto legislation while also sharing industry criticism , said Atkins "frames the agency’s agenda as an instrument of the administration." She also noted its many policy shifts have been executed through staff statements rather than formal rules. That's routinely been the case for the crypto industry, which has enthusiastically embraced many of these statements as clarifying the agency's position in the absence of clear digital assets laws. "This approach flouts the SEC’s legal obligations under the Administrative Procedure Act, excludes the vital role public comment provides in identifying issues, and hides from congressional and public view precisely what interests are influencing SEC decision-making, so that we cannot weigh the motives of those parties molding SEC policy," said Waters, who requested that Atkins come to testify before the House panel. Read More: U.S. SEC chief warns watchdogs need to be limited in tapping crypto's power to snoop U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Maxine Waters Paul Atkins U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission More For You State of the Blockchain 2025 By CoinDesk Research Dec 19, 2025 Commissioned by Input Output Group L1 tokens broadly underperformed in 2025 despite a backdrop of regulatory and institutional wins. Explore the key trends defining ten major blockchains below. What to know : 2025 was defined by a stark divergence: structural progress collided with stagnant price action. Institutional milestones were reached and TVL increased across most major ecosystems, yet the majority of large-cap Layer-1 tokens finished the year with negative or flat returns. This report analyzes the structural decoupling between network usage and token performance. We examine 10 major blockchain ecosystems, exploring protocol versus application revenues, key ecosystem narratives, mechanics driving institutional adoption, and the trends to watch as we head into 2026. View Full Report More For You State of Crypto: Year in review By Nikhilesh De Dec 27, 2025 How did 2025 shake out for crypto? Read full story Latest Crypto News Flow scraps blockchain 'rollback' plan after community backlash over decentralization 2 hours ago Aptos' APT declines on below average volume 4 hours ago Crypto winter looms in 2026, but Cantor sees institutional growth and onchain shifts 5 hours ago Bitmine's ether stash tops 4.1 million tokens as crypto and cash holdings reach $13.2 billion 6 hours ago CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: Polkadot (DOT) Rises 6% Over Weekend 7 hours ago Polkadot's DOT dips, with token underperforming wider crypto markets 7 hours ago Top Stories Crypto winter looms in 2026, but Cantor sees institutional growth and onchain shifts 5 hours ago Strategy reloads on bitcoin, acquires a further 1,229 BTC for $109 million 8 hours ago Bitcoin reverses early gains, drops below $88,000 as Nasdaq futures wilt 10 hours ago Bitmine's ether stash tops 4.1 million tokens as crypto and cash holdings reach $13.2 billion 6 hours ago Flow scraps blockchain 'rollback' plan after community backlash over decentralization 2 hours ago Digital yuan holdings to earn interest under China's new framework 14 hours ago