Paul AtkinsDonald Trump’s pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, once blamed an unusual suspect for the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange: The US government itself.
Atkins, 66, had a front row seat to the FTX disaster that still resonates through the digital-asset world. His Washington-based consulting firm Patomak Global Partners is listed as a creditor in the FTX bankruptcy for a board-advisory consulting agreement dated January 2022, about 10 months before Bankman-Fried’s firm blew up. It also served as an FTX lobbyist, according to court documents.