On January 21, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda launched an agencywide "Crypto Task Force" dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets.1 The Task Force will be led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. The new Task Force signals a widely anticipated shift under new SEC leadership to more regulatory engagement with the crypto industry. As noted in our prior client alert—How the SEC's Approach to Crypto Could Change—crypto industry members should be prepared to engage with the SEC as it considers a regulatory framework for the crypto industry so that their perspectives are considered.
According to the SEC press release, the Task Force will help the agency draw clear regulatory lines, provide realistic paths to registration, craft sensible disclosure frameworks and deploy enforcement resources judiciously, all in coordination with Congress; federal departments and agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and state and international counterparts.
The SEC's announcement emphasizes that the agency's reliance on enforcement actions to regulate crypto to date has led to "confusion about what is legal" and "an environment hostile to innovation and conducive to fraud," while clarity around SEC registration requirements has remained "elusive." Commissioner Peirce, who was tapped to lead the Task Force, has championed innovative solutions to crypto regulation2 and has been a frequent dissenting voice (along with now-Acting Chairman Uyeda) from many of the SEC's crypto-related actions during her tenure at the SEC.3 Placing her at the head of the Task Force further confirms that the SEC will take a different approach to crypto than has been taken under prior leadership.
Commissioner Peirce noted that the Task Force will succeed only if it receives input from a wide range of investors, industry participants, academics and other interested parties. As a result, it is critical for crypto industry members to participate in opportunities to provide input to the SEC, such as through roundtables and public comments. Industry members also should seek out other opportunities to engage with the SEC and its Staff to ensure their perspectives are taken into account. We anticipate that the Crypto Task Force will provide further updates about its plans to seek public input, but in the interim, the SEC's announcement invites public input at Crypto@sec.gov.
Footnotes
1. Press Release, SEC Crypto 2.0: Acting Chairman Uyeda Announces Formation of New Crypto Task Force (Jan. 21, 2025), https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025-30.
2. See e.g., Comm'r Hester M. Peirce, Comment on Digital Securities Sandbox Joint Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority Consultation Paper (May 29, 2024), https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-boe-fca-comment-05302024; Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, Token Safe Harbor Proposal 2.0 (Apr. 13, 2021), https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-statement-token-safe-harbor-proposal-20.
3. See, e.g., Comm'rs Hester M. Peirce and Mark T. Uyeda, Omakase: Statement on In the Matter of Flyfish Club, LLC (Sept. 16, 2024), https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-uyeda-statement-flyfish-091624; Comm'rs Hester M. Peirce and Mark T. Uyeda, On Today's Episode of As the Crypto World Turns: Statement on ShapeShift AG (Mar. 5, 2024), https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-uyeda-statement-crypto-world-turns-03-06-24; Comm'rs Hester M. Peirce and Mark T. Uyeda, Statement Regarding Denial of Petition for Rulemaking (Dec. 15, 2023), https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-uyeda-petition-121523.
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