Hester Pierce hinted at a change in SEC crypto policy
Date: 2023-09-20 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BLOCKCHAIN
Pearce admits that she did not expect the Commission to be so slow in finding solutions to the regulatory framework for digital assets when it joined in 2018.
“I haven’t noticed any significant changes for the better. The agency employs a large number of people who know about cryptocurrency. Be it FinHub or other divisions of the company. Among the employees there are those who are actually well informed. During the time I’ve been working there, the situation has changed a lot,” she said.
She said that it is not yet possible to draw a parallel between the introduction of rules for the industry with such world leaders in the process as Switzerland and Singapore.
The SEC, under the leadership of Gary Gensler, has been criticized from many quarters for its enforcement-based approach to regulating cryptocurrencies.
At the time of writing, the department is engaged in civil litigation against Coinbase, Binance and Ripple. Previously, such large Bitcoin exchanges as Kraken and Bittrex have already dealt with the Commission’s claims. The SEC added that it is examining a number of other CEX and DeFi protocols for violations of the law.
Pearce declined to comment on the Commission's litigation and encouraged industry participants to contact the agency to discuss regulatory issues. She suggested that there could be a “reversal of opinion” at the SEC regarding cryptocurrency-related policies:
“Don’t give up on the USA. This will pass, as will the confusion. The United States is a good place to develop projects, and I want to keep it that way.”
At the same time, she emphasized that when communicating with the Commission, it is worth coming up with specific ideas and ways in which regulatory clarity is needed.
Also in July, Pierce said that the ambiguity of regulation of the crypto industry could harm American citizens.
