On 21 March 2025, at the inaugural Crypto Task force roundtable of the Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity series, Commissioner Hester M. Peirce of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) delivered remarks welcoming participants and encouraging a renewed regulatory approach to the crypto asset space. The roundtable is part of the initiative by the US SEC’s Crypto Task Force and reflects the agency’s commitment to fostering collaboration and clarity around the classification and regulation of digital assets.
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce began by acknowledging the symbolic timing of the event, which takes place two months after Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda announced the formation of the Crypto Task Force and coincides with the onset of spring in Washington D.C., she referred to the roundtable as a “restart of the Commission’s approach to crypto regulation,” commending US SEC staff for their enthusiasm and readiness to develop a workable framework.
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce appreciated the collaborative intent behind the roundtable series, which will serve as a platform for industry experts, legal scholars, and regulators to address the nuanced legal questions surrounding crypto asset classification. Peirce used a metaphor involving her brother repairing a shed and a broken tractor to illustrate the importance of addressing foundational challenges, like defining what constitutes a security, before attempting to build a broader regulatory structure.
Commissioner Hester M. Peirce remarked the urgency of resolving definitional and conceptual questions that underpin the regulatory treatment of crypto assets. These include, “What makes something a security?”, “Is that status permanent, or might an asset start as a security and convert to a non-security, or vice versa?”, “How does decentralization affect the analysis?”, “Can we translate the characteristics of a security into a simple taxonomy that will cover the many different types of crypto assets that exist today and will exist in the future?”
The US SEC Crypto roundtable and Commissioner Peirce’s remark signal a strategic shift by the US SEC toward more inclusive and transparent policymaking in the evolving digital asset landscape. In line with the agency’s responsibilities under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the event represents an effort to establish regulatory certainty while engaging with the broader financial and technological communities.
(Source: https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-remarks-crypto-roundtable-032125)
