SEC Suddenly Loves Crypto? Commissioner Peirce Says No More War!

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The winds are shifting. The old guard at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is finally waking up and realizing that cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Hester Peirce, a commissioner who’s probably tired of looking at old enforcement rules, made it clear that the agency will no longer treat crypto like an outlaw gang in a spaghetti western.

Under the tough, grumpy rule of the Trump administration, the SEC had its hands full cracking down on digital assets. But Peirce is now waving a white flag, telling the world that it’s time to let crypto play nice with the rules of the land.

Time to Put the Whip Away: Structured Policies Incoming!

In an interview with Bloomberg Crypto TV, Peirce gave us a peek into the SEC’s shiny new plan. No more relying on enforcement to dictate how digital assets should behave. The SEC’s new job? Creating a solid playbook for crypto tokens to follow. You know, those things we all pretend to understand but really just hope the government will handle it.

Peirce admitted that the SEC had been using enforcement as its hammer, trying to regulate with all the subtlety of a wrecking ball. But guess what? That’s not what the SEC was meant to do. They’re supposed to be the policy-makers, not the enforcement muscle.

Now, Peirce assures us that they’ll get back on track with a nice, neat framework for crypto regulation, instead of chasing down every misstep. Hopefully, this will mean fewer crypto executives getting subpoenas and more clarity. 🍿

“During the past several years, enforcement cases have been used as a way to make regulatory policy; that is very atypical. We’re trying to get back to a path where we’re really using our other tools to make policy,” Peirce said.

No More Crypto War? Maybe… Maybe Not

Here’s the plot twist: Peirce says the government has ended its “war” on cryptocurrencies. Wait, what? Are we in peace talks now? Has the SEC finally realized that digital assets aren’t the devil’s playground?

“We have been using enforcement cases to set regulatory policy. We’re trying to shift from that so we actually set policy and then we bring enforcement cases as needed,” the SEC Commissioner said in an interview.

Peirce also hinted that the SEC is figuring out which agencies should actually be in charge of crypto, and—plot twist again—they think Congress might need to step in to plug up some of the holes in the regulations. Apparently, the lines between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have been a little blurry, and Peirce is all about finding clarity.

“We’re working on looking at our jurisdiction that we currently have and saying what falls inside that jurisdiction and what falls outside that jurisdiction, then we can point out to Congress where we think there are gaps where maybe something is not covered by our jurisdiction,” she explained.

The Crypto Task Force: Because Why Not?

Reports suggest that Peirce is about to lead a crypto task force. This task force will be the SEC’s attempt to, you know, create some actual rules for crypto to follow. No more haphazard enforcement, just good old-fashioned regulation. Experts believe they’ll decide which cryptos are securities and which ones are just happy little tokens floating around. Is it too much to hope for clear answers?

And for those still stuck on the idea that crypto’s just a passing trend, remember that President Trump signed an executive order to start an advisory panel for crypto regulations. Yes, the same Trump who probably thought Bitcoin was a new brand of potato chips. So, buckle up. We might see a national crypto stockpile one of these days. 🔥

Peirce, of course, has always been a fan of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), so she’s not exactly your typical SEC bureaucrat. And she’s been vocal against the agency’s heavy-handed enforcement in the past. Maybe, just maybe, we’re about to see some crypto love from the SEC.

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2025-02-13 16:14