- During a speech at the annual Coin Center Dinner, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce apologised for being unable to convince her fellow commissioners to take a more pro-crypto stance during her tenure.
- Peirce also sounded a hopeful note, telling attendees that regulatory clarity has largely been achieved and they should seize the opportunity to showcase the benefits of blockchain to the masses.
In a speech given at the annual Coin Center Dinner event in New York on September 25, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Hester Peirce (aka Crypto Mom) expressed regret over the regulator’s hostile stance towards crypto for most of her time as a commissioner.
I am sorry that over most of my tenure at the SEC I failed to convince my colleagues in government to give you a chance.
Hester Peirce, SEC commissioner.However, the commissioner added that despite regulators’ hostility towards crypto — particularly under the reign of former Chair Gary Gensler — significant progress has been made in terms of legislative reform and regulatory clarity. She said that had potentially primed the US digital assets industry for accelerated innovation and growth moving forward.
“I hope that you and others whom you have inspired will use this time — a time in which regulatory clarity has replaced ambiguity as government’s objective — to build good things that will enhance the safety, security, happiness, and prosperity of your family, friends, neighbors, and nation.”
Peirce encouraged attendees at the event, many of whom are crypto industry leaders, to seize the opportunity presented by the newly favourable regulatory environment and get busy proving the benefits of decentralised web3 technology to the masses.
Show the skeptics that technologies that enable us to engage permissionlessly and privately with our peers are worth preserving and celebrating. Building valuable things in this moment when government is not trying to stop you is the best way to ensure the durability of sound crypto policy.
Hester Peirce, SEC commissioner.Related: White House Signals Crypto Bill Could Pass by Year-End, Paving Way for Clear Rules
Wave of Regulatory Changes Supports US Digital Assets Industry
Since the start of 2025, there’s been a raft of pro-crypto legislation and changes at regulators like the SEC. Perhaps the most significant change came in July when the GENIUS Act was signed into law, creating a regulatory framework for the issuance of stablecoins and potentially reducing risks associated with the use of stablecoins and encouraging their use.
We’ve also seen the SEC significantly reduce the size of its crypto-enforcement unit and rename it, and the Department of Justice disband its crypto enforcement unit entirely.
Related: SEC’s Project Crypto: Atkins Eyes Year-End ‘Innovation Exemption’ to Ease Digital Asset Rules
Coupled with these changes, we’ve seen a far more pro-crypto Chair, Paul Atkins, be sworn in at the SEC, the establishment of the SEC’s Crypto Taskforce, the revocation of Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121) and a general commitment from the regulator to a more innovation-focussed rules-based approach to crypto enforcement exemplified by its Project Crypto initiative.
Taken together, these changes have created a much more crypto-friendly environment in the US and should encourage the growth of the industry over the next few years.
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