SEC’s Peirce Calls for Softer Approach to Cryptocurrency Regulation

The U.S. financial system requires greater decentralization. The regulation and enforcement by the SEC concerning digital assets needs to be softened, stated Commissioner Hester Peirce during the ETH Denver conference.

Hester Peirce Fireside: What’s America’s Crypto Future?

Presented by @HesterPeirce the SEC Commissioner & moderator MacKenzie Sigalos from @CNBC

Watch the full video below ? pic.twitter.com/MEVnSXhA6L

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“Centralization means you have concentrated risks. Decentralization can give the financial system resilience and strength,” said Peirce.

The official expressed concern over a proposed bill aimed at granting institutional status to nodes, validators, non-custodial wallets, mining pools, and software.

Peirce also commented on the agency’s stance regarding the expansion of the dealer rule to the DeFi sector:

“The whole concept of decentralization is very different from what we are used to at the SEC. When someone on the team interacts with code rather than a physical or legal entity, it becomes a real problem for the Commission.”

According to her, the regulator’s task is to define the boundaries of existing powers and help investors obtain information about securities to make their own decisions.

Peirce noted that the agency is currently in an “enforcement-only mode.” There needs to be provisions allowing projects to grow and become decentralized without the threat of litigation, she added.

“If we had clearer rules, you [the audience] could focus on development,” Peirce acknowledged.

Previously, she called for the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF without resorting to a court process.

Earlier, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated that he “sees value” in a spot fund based on the second-largest cryptocurrency, calling it a step towards tokenization.