- Hester Peirce is appointed as a commissioner of the SEC’s crypto enforcement unit.
- The SEC, under the new administration, is expected to be more accepting of crypto.
In the ongoing crypto developments, reports indicate that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has hired over 50 lawyers and staff members for crypto enforcement actions.
This move by pro-crypto President Donald Trump appears to push the digital asset and blockchain industry to new heights, following the stricter policies of Gary Gensler.
Changes in crypto regulation
The new SEC Chair, Mark T. Uyeda, has appointed pro-crypto advocate Hester Peirce as a commissioner of the SEC’s new crypto enforcement unit to review its policies, which she previously called unclear and impractical.
In a report, Peirce stated that her goal is to create a task force to establish a regulatory framework that allows industry participants to innovate while preventing it from becoming a hub for fraudsters.
The SEC — crypto nexus
For the uninitiated, the crypto enforcement unit was initially launched in 2017 and expanded under Jay Clayton and Gary Gensler, handling nearly 200 cases against crypto firms, including Coinbase and Ripple Labs.
In 2024, fraud and unregistered securities offerings were the most frequent allegations made by Gensler’s SEC.
Additionally, data revealed that monetary penalties imposed on digital asset market participants in 2024 reached a record high of over $4.98 billion, largely due to a single multibillion-dollar settlement.
What this means for crypto
Trump’s SEC is expected to take a more favorable stance toward the crypto landscape, in contrast to Gensler’s tough approach.
Experts and analysts speculate that this support from Trump could boost innovation and investment, while critics worry it may weaken consumer protections and enable scams to thrive.
With SEC leadership shifting toward fewer restrictions, the future of crypto regulation remains uncertain, keeping both investors and regulators on edge.
