Senator Elizabeth Warren accused SEC Chair Paul Atkins of misleading Congress over a decline in enforcement actions, which hit a decade low in fiscal 2025. Warren sought clarification on the regulatory shift, while Atkins defended the changes as a strategic realignment of priorities.

Senator Elizabeth Warren accused SEC Chair Paul Atkins of misleading Congress about enforcement actions' decline. With only 456 new cases in 2025, concerns arise regarding the SEC's effectiveness and the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrency and market oversight.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins launched his podcast "Material Matters," featuring Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda. They discussed a pro-innovation regulatory approach, criticizing past leadership and advocating for an open regulatory environment for digital assets.

Hong Kong's Finance Secretary Paul Chan expects the city to rise to the world's second-largest financial center in 10-15 years, emphasizing its adaptability, tech growth, and strong ties to mainland China while addressing stablecoin regulations.

Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan reported strong economic performance driven by exports, services, and goods trade, alongside steady consumption and rising private investment. He emphasized the city's robust stock market and the need for financial stability to enhance competitiveness.

Morpho has launched Morpho Midnight, a fixed-rate DeFi lending product distinct from its variable-rate counterpart, Morpho Blue. Co-founder Paul Frambot highlights that Midnight represents a new onchain lending approach, coexisting with Blue. Morpho holds $7.7 billion in TVL.

Gate News update: On April 8, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins announced that he has ended “enforcement-led regulation,” and said that the seven crypto-related registration cases brought by the previous administration were a “misallocation of resources,” providing no direct benefit to investors.

Gate News: On April 7, Paul Atkins, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said at the Vanderbilt University Digital Assets Summit that the SEC’s proposed crypto “safe harbor” framework has been submitted to the Information and Regulatory Affairs Office (OIRA) for review under the Office of Management and Budget, and that only one final step remains before it is formally released. The proposal includes a “start-up exemption” provision, allowing crypto projects to raise a certain amount of funding within a four-year period, while requiring specific disclosures to protect investors. Atkins also revealed that the SEC is moving forward with an “innovation exemption” mechanism, which would create a regulatory sandbox for on-chain assets, but the initiative has sparked controversy between crypto advocates and traditional financial institutions. Atkins emphasized that related legislation still needs to be advanced to ensure the regulatory framework has staying power across administrations.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Financial Secretary Paul Chan said that in March, the average daily trading value of the Hong Kong stock market exceeded HK$300 billion, up 8% year over year. This year, funds raised through IPOs have already exceeded HK$103 billion, the world’s No. 1, and companies collectively view Hong Kong as an important window for financing and for “going global.”