Paul Atkins Predicts Tokenization Tsunami—Slams SEC’s ’Regulation by Enforcement’ as Obsolete

Wall Street's sleeping giant is waking up—and it's built on blockchain. Former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins just declared the tokenization revolution unstoppable, while taking a wrecking ball to the agency's controversial enforcement tactics.

The trillion-dollar digital asset shift

Atkins reveals institutional capital is flooding into tokenized real-world assets—from real estate to fine art—with projections showing a 500% surge in adoption by 2026. The kicker? Traditional finance can't ignore these yields anymore.

Regulators playing catch-up

The SEC's 'regulation by enforcement' approach gets shredded as Atkins highlights how it's stifling innovation. 'You don't regulate airplanes by waiting for crashes,' he quips—pointing to jurisdictions like Singapore already crafting clear crypto frameworks.

The cynical take

Of course, this gold rush comes just as banks realize their 19th-century ledgers can't compete with smart contracts. Nothing motivates regulatory clarity like missing out on fees.

The message to Washington? Adapt or become irrelevant as trillion-dollar markets bypass legacy systems entirely.

Paul Atkins Says Tokenization Is The Next Step for Efficiency

In a July 2 appearance on “Squawk Box,” Atkins claimed that tokenization is “the next step” in order to have “much more efficiency” across markets.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins joined @SquawkCNBC this morning to discuss stock tokenization, making private markets more accessible to the public, and top priorities for the SEC. https://t.co/ed3zYMk1tO

“Tokenization is imminent, and we at the SEC should be focused on how we advance innovation in the marketplace,” Atkins said.

“The rules of the road have not been clear,” he added. “We had regulation by reinforcement—that day’s over. For now, my whole goal is to make things transparent from the regulatory aspect.”

A New Day Dawns at the SEC

According to a June 2025 report from Binance Research, real-world asset tokenization skyrocketed by over 260% in the first half of the year alone.

Meanwhile, May 2025 figures from the same report show that the crypto market rose 10.3% in spite of market uncertainty. The data indicates an overall trend toward digitized finance, marking a major win for crypto proponents.

Atkins’ comments come just three months after he was officially sworn in as SEC head by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Atkins has been widely embraced as a pro-crypto pick to lead the federal regulator, in part thanks to reports that he holds up to $6 million in crypto holdings.

The SEC has dropped several lawsuits against key players in the crypto industry in recent months amid broader regulatory changes to the digital asset sector as a whole.

“A top priority of my chairmanship will be to provide a formal regulatory foundation for digital assets,” Atkins said during his April 22 swearing-in.

“Through a rational, coherent, and principled approach, we will work to ensure that the United States is the best and most secure place in the world to do business,” he added.