Paul Atkins becomes first SEC chair to speak at Bitcoin Conference

SEC Chair Paul Atkins will speak at the Bitcoin 2026 Conference in Las Vegas this April, becoming the first SEC chair to appear at the largest annual Bitcoin gathering.

The conference, organized by BTC Media, is scheduled for April 27-29 at The Venetian and is expected to draw more than 40,000 attendees and 500 speakers.

Other prominent political figures who will deliver speeches at the event are Mike Selig, CFTC Chair, and Aleš Michl, Governor of the Czech National Bank. Top industry voices attending include Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of Strategy, Arthur Hayes of Maelstrom, and Caitlin Long, co-founder of Custodia Bank, to name a few.

Atkins took office in April 2025 and has since pursued closer engagement with the crypto industry. In November 2025, he launched “Project Crypto,” an initiative focused on developing regulatory frameworks for tokenized assets and decentralized finance.

The SEC and CFTC will hold a joint event on regulatory harmonization today, with Atkins and Selig signaling a push for clearer rules in the digital asset space.

Bitcoin conferences have drawn increasing attention from government officials in recent years.

Donald Trump spoke at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville, where he pledged to establish a national Bitcoin reserve and end federal attacks on the crypto industry. Vice President J.D. Vance also joined the event last year.

Source: https://cryptobriefing.com/sec-chair-bitcoin-conference/