SEC’s Peirce points to priorities, asks for patience 

It’ll take time to “disentangle all these strands,” Peirce noted — ongoing litigation included

article-image

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce | Permissionless II for Blockworks

share


This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


About two weeks after the SEC formed a crypto task force, unit leader Hester Peirce checked in.  

The rough message: We’re working on a bunch of things, but please be patient. 

Peirce (no surprise) criticized the previous path taken by the SEC. It “incessantly slammed on the enforcement brakes as it lurched along a meandering route with a destination not discernible to anyone.”

Further, its handling of crypto “has been marked by legal imprecision and commercial impracticality” (in case you didn’t already know how Peirce felt). 

It’ll take time to “disentangle all these strands,” she noted several times — ongoing litigation included. Seemingly related, the SEC plans to scale back staff focused on crypto enforcement actions, the New York Times reported

Among 10 listed priorities, Pierce notes the status of crypto assets under the securities laws as “fundamental to resolving many other questions.” This jibes with what Bitwise general counsel Katherine Dowling told me about the “dolphins in the fish nets” — alluding to assets the SEC has previously labeled as securities.

Another priority is to identify areas that fall outside the SEC’s jurisdiction — a signal the agency intends to stay in its lane.

Other focuses include creating a framework for custodying client assets; offering clarity on if and how crypto lending and staking programs are covered by securities laws; and creating some sort of cross-border sandbox for crypto projects.

On crypto ETFs, the task force will be clear about its approach when approving/disapproving planned products, Peirce promises. As issuers look to add staking and in-kind creations/redemptions to existing products, she added, the SEC may first need to make progress on custody (and other) issues.

The SEC is working toward these goals “in an orderly, practical and legally defensible way,” Peirce made clear.

And so, she reminds those eager for change: “It took us a long time to get into this mess, and it is going to take us some time to get out of it.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

The march toward an interoperable and onchain-by-default internet depends on reliable messaging and value transfer across heterogeneous domains. Crosschain protocols now process >$1.3T in combined annual transfer volume and secure tens of millions of user interactions, yet no single design dominates.

article-image

The goal, per Santiago Santos, is to make crypto a relatable piece of tech for people who may not even understand it

article-image

Stripe stablecoin unit aims to operate under a federal charter enabling regulated stablecoin issuance and custody services

by Blockworks /
article-image

Will TradFi make crypto better or create more problems than it solves?

article-image

Subtle decisions by risk curators saved Aave from significant turmoil

article-image

The new Rootstock Institutional unit aims to connect professional investors to Bitcoin-native yield and liquidity strategies anchored in BTC’s security layer

by Blockworks /
article-image

DOJ files record civil forfeiture against more than 127,000 BTC linked to scam activity

by Blockworks /