SEC Commissioner Pressures Congress With 7-Point Crypto Framework for Fast Reform
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester M. Peirce called on Congress to streamline cryptocurrency oversight and reduce regulatory confusion during the Digital Chamber’s 8th Annual DC Blockchain Summit in Washington D.C. on March 26. Peirce currently leads the newly formed Crypto Task Force at the SEC, an initiative launched to create clearer regulatory pathways for the cryptocurrency industry.
Drawing on her experience with multi-agency rulemaking, Peirce argued that overlapping mandates across a wide range of regulators—including the SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and state-level bodies—create costly inefficiencies for both market participants and regulators. She warned:
The overlap is likely only to get worse because crypto assets can represent anything from cash, to a financial instrument, like a security or a futures contract, to a work of precious art.
To address these challenges, Peirce laid out seven clear recommendations for lawmakers. First, she advised against the formation of a new agency, recommending instead that Congress empower existing regulators. Second, she proposed limiting the scope of new statutes to U.S.-based or U.S.-targeted platforms.
Third, she called for federal preemption in areas of interstate commerce to ease tension with state laws. Fourth, she urged Congress to assign oversight of specific crypto asset types to particular federal agencies. Fifth, Peirce called for legal clarity that allows trading of various crypto assets—including those not classified as securities—on platforms overseen by either the SEC or CFTC. Sixth, she endorsed applying established regulatory principles from traditional financial markets to crypto, proposing that trading venues operate more like Alternative Trading Systems. Seventh, she emphasized the need to preserve Americans’ right to peer-to-peer financial interaction as a safeguard against centralized overreach.
Peirce also stressed the importance of enabling regulators to maintain robust oversight under any revised framework:
Regulators would have the ability to monitor and examine trading platforms and bring enforcement actions for violations of customer protection rules, insider trading, and disclosure violations.
Her comments reflect a balance between embracing innovation and maintaining essential market protections. While she acknowledged that developing an effective framework won’t be easy, she struck an optimistic tone about the road ahead, calling for collaborative action to reach a balanced and effective regulatory structure.