Hester Peirce, one of the five commissioners of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and an outspoken advocate of cryptocurrencies, has urged lawmakers and regulators to clarify digital assets.
Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Permissionless II conference in Austin, Texas, on September 11, Peirce said he wouldn't have expected the SEC to be "this far behind" in finding a solution for a regulatory framework on cryptocurrencies when he joined the commission in 2018. He noted that countries like Switzerland and Singapore appeared to be at the forefront of crypto regulations globally, but said they largely could not be compared to the situation in the United States.
"I haven't seen many changes for the better," Peirce said. “There are a lot of people who know a lot about crypto in the agency, whether in FinHub or in all divisions. You have people who are actually quite knowledgeable and I think that has changed during the time I have been there.”
The SEC, under the leadership of the president Gary Gensler, has received a lot of criticism from industry leaders, regulators, and lawmakers, often accused of a “regulation by enforcement” approach to digital assets. At the time of this publication, the commission was involved in civil actions against crypto companies Coinbase, Binance and Ripple and had not approved a Bitcoin spot (btc) exchange-traded fund (ETF) for listing on US markets. In August, investments in grayscale won an appeal against the SEC's rejection of its spot ETF application, which may lead to a review.
Related: Stoner Cats NFTs are 'fan crowdfunding', not securities: SEC's Peirce and Uyeda
Peirce said he could not comment on any particular court case involving the SEC, but urged institutions involved in the crypto industry to contact the commission about how to move forward. She hinted that the agency could "change its mind" on policy related to cryptocurrencies:
“Don't give up on America. This too shall pass, the confusion shall pass. The United States is a good place to build things and I want to keep it that way. But it presents very specific ideas, [...] Think of concrete ways in which you need clarity.”
At the time of publication, SEC lawyers were meeting with counterparts on Binance.US at a Washington DC court hearing discussing a motion regarding the need for expedited discovery in the civil lawsuit. The hearing followed Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announcing that Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder was "taking a well-deserved rest” from crypto company amid reports from others executives in the exchange had left.
Magazine: Crypto Regulation: Does SEC Chairman Gary Gensler Have the Last Word?
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