SEC Chairman Paul Atkins to keynote Solana Summit on Sept. 14

The nation’s top securities regulator is headlining a blockchain conference. And not just any blockchain conference, but one organized specifically around a single Layer 1 network’s ambitions to become Wall Street infrastructure.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins will deliver the closing keynote at the Solana Policy Institute’s “Solana Summit: Washington x Wall Street” on September 14, scheduled for 5:10 p.m. ET in Washington, D.C. He won’t be the only regulator in the room. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, affectionately known as “Crypto Mom” in industry circles, will appear in a fireside chat at 5:00 p.m. ET, just minutes before Atkins takes the stage.

A summit built for the suits

The Solana Policy Institute designed this event to sit at the intersection of policy, regulation, and institutional finance. Rep. Tom Emmer and Sen. Cynthia Lummis are both confirmed speakers, two of Congress’s most vocal advocates for digital asset legislation.

The summit’s stated goal is to explore Solana’s potential as critical infrastructure for modern finance and to hash out the regulatory frameworks that would support broader institutional adoption of blockchain technology.

Why Atkins matters

Atkins was sworn in as the 34th SEC Chairman on April 21, 2025, after being nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate. He previously served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008, then founded Patomak Global Partners, a consultancy that advised financial firms on regulatory strategy.

Atkins has championed “Project Crypto” as a strategic initiative within the Trump administration aimed at positioning the US as a global leader in digital assets. He has indicated that most tokens are not securities and has promised clearer rules for custody and trading platforms.

Solana’s institutional play

SOL has become available for trading through major brokerages, and the development of SOL-based ETFs has added another layer of legitimacy, giving institutional allocators a familiar wrapper for exposure to the network.

Lummis has been one of the Senate’s most persistent advocates for comprehensive crypto legislation, and Emmer has pushed for clearer guidelines around digital asset classification from the House side.

What investors should watch is whether the summit produces any concrete policy signals, draft guidance, or timelines for the regulatory clarity that Atkins has been promising. Specifics about custody rules, token classification standards, or ETF approval frameworks would be meaningful outputs from the event.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.