President-elect Donald Trump announced he will nominate former Commissioner Paul Atkins, a proponent of cryptocurrencies and financial deregulation, to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Atkins is the CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a risk management and financial services consulting firm. Atkins served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008 after being appointed by then-President George W. Bush.

“Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations,” Trump said on social media. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.”

If confirmed, Atkins will replace current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who has been in the role since shortly after President Joe Biden entered office. Gensler is a frequent target among those in the cryptocurrency industry and has said he plans to step down ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

Atkins will likely be a stark contrast to Gensler as head of the SEC. Atkins is co-chairman of the Token Alliance, which is an initiative from the bitcoin and crypto advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerce.

Gensler has drawn the ire of the digital assets industry, which argues he has been too heavy-handed with crypto regulation and has failed to provide clear guidelines on which digital assets are commodities and which are securities, which would require exchanges to register as securities broker-dealers with the SEC.

Gensler has also faced criticism for the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement” approach in the crypto space. SEC enforcement actions against crypto companies have nearly doubled since Gensler took over in 2021.

Senate Banking Committee ranking member Tim Scott (R-SC) said Atkins has the experience necessary to unwind Gensler’s “disastrous tenure” at the SEC.

“I look forward to working with him to increase access to capital for entrepreneurs, open our capital markets to all Americans, and create a regulatory environment for digital assets that encourages innovation here in the United States, not overseas,” Scott said.

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The American Securities Association congratulated Atkins on being picked and praised Trump’s decision to nominate him as Wall Street’s top regulator.

“Paul is well-versed on investor protection, capital markets, market structure, and public company issues,” ASA President and CEO Chris Iacovella said. “We look forward to working with him to rebuild the public’s trust and confidence in the agency.”