WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Republican officials at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are poised to begin overhauling the agency's cryptocurrency policies potentially as early as next week when President-elect Donald Trump takes power, said three people briefed on the matter. Among the measures commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda are weighing are initiating the process that would ultimately lead to guidance or rules clarifying when the agency considers a cryptocurrency to be a security, and reviewing some crypto enforcement cases pending in the courts, two of the people said. Paul Atkins, Trump's crypto-friendly pick for SEC chair and former agency commissioner, is widely expected to end a crypto crackdown led by President Biden's Democratic SEC chair Gary Gensler, but it is unclear when the Senate will confirm him.
Gensler has said he will step down on Jan. 20 when Trump is sworn in.
