On December 30, prediction market Kalshi showed that the probability of Democrats winning a majority of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026 was about 75%. Against this backdrop, Maxine Waters, the senior Democratic member of the House Financial Services Committee, offered sharper criticism of the cryptocurrency regulatory policies of SEC Chairman Paul Atkins.
In a letter to Commission Republican Chairman French Hill, Waters stated that the SEC has terminated or suspended several important enforcement cases targeting the crypto industry, involving entities such as Coinbase, Binance, and Justin Sun. She noted that the Commission has not yet fully reviewed the SEC's reasons for abandoning these cases, nor how it plans to prevent fraud and manipulation in markets targeting large numbers of retail investors.
Waters also stated that some of the companies involved announced the termination of their cases before the SEC's formal vote, and questioned the "unusually active" role played by the Atkins team in the settlement process. She believes that the SEC's recent policy shift, primarily through staff statements rather than informal rules, may circumvent the Administrative Procedure Act and weaken the role of public comment and congressional oversight. Therefore, she requested Atkins to appear at a hearing to explain. The report points out that since the Donald Trump administration took office and completed its leadership change, the SEC has dropped several lawsuits against the crypto industry. Atkins has also repeatedly stated publicly that supporting the development of the US crypto industry is a regulatory priority, a stance that is becoming a focus of continued attention and questioning from the Democratic Party.
