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In a recent address, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins expressed concerns that blockchain technology and cryptocurrency could potentially become powerful tools for surveillance if governments overstep their boundaries.
Atkins’ remarks came during the SEC Crypto Task Force’s sixth roundtable discussion on financial surveillance and privacy, which featured representatives from privacy-focused projects like ZCash (ZEC) and industry organizations such as the Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation.
The roundtable highlighted the need for regulators to strike a balance between innovation and privacy in the rapidly evolving digital asset space.
Rethinking Financial Surveillance in the Digital Age
Atkins referenced the approach taken by his predecessor, former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who relied on enforcement actions to regulate the crypto industry and pushed for the reporting of every transaction on the blockchain.
“If the government treats every wallet like a broker, every piece of software as an exchange, every transaction as a reportable event, and every protocol as a surveillance node, it will transform this ecosystem into a financial panopticon,” Atkins warned.
However, he also emphasized the possibility of finding a balance between innovation and privacy, ensuring that technological advancements do not come at the expense of personal freedoms.
“Together, I am confident that we can shape a framework that ensures neither technological nor financial progress will compromise our personal freedoms,” the SEC Chair said.
Atkins was joined by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the agency’s crypto task force. In her opening statements, Peirce echoed Atkins’ concerns and emphasized the need for regulators to “rethink when and how financial transactions are surveilled” as the digital asset space continues to grow.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce addresses roundtable (Source: SEC)
Peirce emphasized that the rules governing financial privacy are “overdue for a change,” and that the rise of cryptocurrency is driving a reassessment of these regulations.
“Protecting one’s privacy should be the norm, not an indicator of criminal intent,” Peirce added.
The Intersection of Privacy and Criminal Cases
The issue of privacy has been a central concern in several high-profile criminal cases involving crypto protocols and developers.
In August, Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm was found guilty on a money laundering charge. The platform he helped create is a decentralized crypto mixing service designed to provide transaction privacy by obscuring transaction details.
BIG!!!
More than 65 crypto organizations are pushing Trump to stop the retrial of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm and arguing that writing code is not a crime.
This isn’t just about one developer.
This is about whether privacy tech is allowed to exist!! pic.twitter.com/Y7E7YxEXlV
— Kyle Chassé (@Kylechasse) November 21, 2025
Since Storm’s verdict, the crypto community has rallied behind him, advocating for an appeal and highlighting the importance of privacy in the digital asset space.
The case has also drawn attention to the US Justice Department’s shifting stance on software developers under the Donald Trump administration. In the same month that Storm was found guilty, Matthew J Galeotti, the acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, stated that “writing code” is not a crime.
The crypto community is also showing support for Keonne Rodriguez, the co-founder of another crypto mixing platform, Samourai Wallet, who is set to begin his five-year sentence. During a recent conference, Trump was asked about the possibility of issuing Rodriguez a pardon, to which he replied that he would look into the case.
Trump has already issued pardons for high-profile figures in the crypto space, including Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and Silk Road developer Ross Ulbricht, since entering the White House for a second term.
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