Atkins Faces Ticking Clock as He Reshapes Rules for Wall Street

When Paul Atkins took the helm of Wall Street’s top regulator, he came with a long to-do list: craft rules for the cryptocurrency industry, make initial public offerings “great again” and ease financial reporting for public companies.

A year into the job, there are few check marks next to those big tasks.

That’s been a disappointment for some industry players, who cheered when President Donald Trump nominated Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission. A familiar face in the building, he was known for favoring light-touch regulation as an SEC staffer in the 1990s before becoming a commissioner ...