Paul Atkins Declares No SEC-CFTC Merger in Sight - Urgent Crypto Market Legislation Required by 2025

Regulatory gridlock threatens to leave crypto markets in limbo as former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins drops a bombshell: no merger between the SEC and CFTC is happening anytime soon.

The Regulatory Void

With 2025 looming as the hard deadline for crypto market legislation, Washington's failure to consolidate oversight creates a dangerous power vacuum. Two agencies circling the same asset class while digital finance evolves at light speed—typical bureaucratic paralysis while markets move faster than congressional hearings.

Legislative Countdown

The 2025 deadline isn't arbitrary—it's the point where regulatory uncertainty starts costing the U.S. its competitive edge. Other jurisdictions are already crafting comprehensive frameworks while American regulators argue over jurisdiction. Nothing says 'financial innovation' like watching from the sidelines while others write the rulebook.

Atkins didn't mince words about the consequences of inaction. Without clear legislation by 2025, the U.S. risks becoming a regulatory backwater for digital assets. Because nothing fuels technological progress like inter-agency turf wars and legacy financial systems playing catch-up.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said in an interview with Fox Business that talk of a merger between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is only speculation. He also confirmed that the WHITE House has set 2025 as the target deadline to pass the Market Structure Bill.

Is Atkins Merging CFTC and SEC?

In the interview, Atkins stated that the two agencies are working closely together as both agencies plan to join a roundtable by the end of the month, on September 29. However, he denied any speculation about a potential merger between the SEC and the CFTC. 

He said, “My hands are full right now, and we are working hand in glove right now with the CFTC. People have been discussing these issues for a long time, and we’re at a point now, especially when we look at the changes in the digital asset area, that it’s really incumbent on the two agencies to work hand in glove.”

Later in his X post, Atkins reiterated that these two agencies need to work together to provide clarity, but he didn’t confirm merging them. 

Atkins’ Comments on Market Structure Bill 

The SEC Chair also called on lawmakers to accelerate their efforts to pass the crypto market structure bill. He confirmed that the SEC is working with both the House and Senate to provide technical support on securities law and address existing gaps in oversight. He is urging the White House to pass the bill by the end of 2025. 

Atkins referred to the GENIUS Act and how it enhanced the crypto framework in the United States. Pushing that further, he said, “It’s important that we have a Market Structure Bill…We want to see this get over the finish line.”

The next step, according to Atkins, is creating a market structure bill that clarifies responsibilities between the SEC and CFTC through coordinated rulemaking. This comment comes as Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Council of Advisors on Digital Assets, confirmed that he expects the Cingree to pass the bill before the year’s end.