Hester Peirce calls for SEC rulemaking to ‘bake in’ crypto regulation

US Securities and Exchange Commissioner (SEC) Hester Peirce offered a few suggestions for longer-lasting changes in crypto regulation between administrations with potentially different views.  

Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit on March 26, Peirce, who heads the SEC’s crypto task force, said she expected that the commission could create more “durability” for digital asset regulations through rulemaking at the agency and legislation in Congress. Such rulemaking and laws would be in contrast to guidance issued by the agency, such as a recent statement suggesting that memecoins do not qualify as securities. 

“I hope people won’t be sitting around thinking about the Howey test,” said Peirce, referring to a method to determine whether an asset is a security. “Your lawyers have to think about these things, I’m not saying that they’ll not be relevant, but it shouldn’t be the kind of thing that is driving what you decide to build. I want there to be enough clarity on the question of what falls in our jurisdiction and then, if it does, how you can move forward.”

Peirce’s remarks came as the SEC has dropped several investigations or enforcement actions against major crypto firms, including Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken and Immutable. Some see the commission’s change in policy under acting chair Mark Uyeda as an attempt by US President Donald Trump to have the agency drop cases against firms that supported his 2024 campaign.

Related: SEC plans 4 more crypto roundtables on trading, custody, tokenization, DeFi

Since the 119th session of Congress started in January, lawmakers have suggested that they intend to move forward with a market structure bill clarifying the roles the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission will have over digital assets. On his third day in office, Trump signed an executive order establishing a working group that would explore, among other things, a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Is a new SEC chair on the horizon?

Paul Atkins, whom Trump nominated as an SEC commissioner in December, will appear before US lawmakers in the Senate Banking Committee on March 27 and likely answer questions about his views on crypto regulation. Many in the crypto industry have indicated support for the former commissioner, who holds assets in real-world asset tokenization platform Securitize and controls a consulting firm tied to FTX.

If his nomination moves through the banking committee, it’s unclear whether the full Senate will vote to confirm Atkins to a term ending in 2031. He is expected to take over as SEC chair from Commissioner Uyeda.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered