SEC Commissioner Peirce Hints at 'Day One' Pro-Crypto SEC Shift

The Securities and Exchange Commission is on the precipice of perhaps one of the most violent policy reversals in the agency's near century-long history. In the coming days, the SEC is prepared to flip from historically anti-crypto to decidedly pro-innovation in a way most people still aren't appreciating.

In an exclusive interview with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, Coinage got a firsthand look at what changes are to come — and just how quickly some of the unwinding of anti-crypto rules may occur at the agency. A seemingly refreshed Commissioner Peirce celebrated what she called both a time of "transition" and a time of "optimism" as the Commission prepares for President Trump's pick in Paul Atkins to succeed Chair Gary Gensler.

"It's a time of transition for everyone in Washington right now, and I think that's the same at the SEC," Commissioner Peirce tells Coinage. "There's still going to be a time of uncertainty because it will take some time before our new Chairman gets here, but there are some things we can do right out of the gate at least get processes started to make some changes."

First up, Commissioner Peirce once again expressed optimism at revisiting two major SEC decisions pertaining to crypto ETFs. As she had expressed last time she spoke with Coinage this summer, both in-kind redemptions and the ability for Ethereum ETFs to begin staking could be up for reconsideration. And unlike last time, when the likelihood was closer to zero of either happening under Chair Gensler, Commissioner Peirce expressed optimism over those changes in the new administration.

The original argument was that in-kind redemptions would prevent unnecessary conversions of the underlying asset in a crypto ETF to cash and could create efficiencies from tax and market perspectives. As for staking, the Ethereum ETFs have attracted more than $10 billion this year, while Bitcoin ETFs have attracted more than $120 billion in assets under management. ETF issuers aren't allowed to do anything beyond simply holding the crypto assets in custody. Exchange Traded Products in other jurisdictions, like Europe, have won the ability to stake the assets they hold in custody to earn additional yield.

"If it changes from a majority of Commissioners who don't want things to go through to a majority of Commissioners who do want things to go through, then yeah, it's easier," she said, noting that after Chair Gensler steps down on January 20, the road ahead on both points gets decisively more clear. "I imagine that that question is going to be posed to us early on," she said.

Still, Commissioner Peirce cautioned the more drastic changes are likely to come in stages after President Trump's pick for SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, is confirmed. Commissioner Peirce, who previously worked with Atkins for years when he served as SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008, praised his steadfast approach to rule making and appreciation for protecting consumer liberties.

"I think what happens on day one is you get an acting Chair designated and then the the acting Chair can start working on things that are a priority, and one of those issues is going to be crypto," she said. "I can't make commitments as to how he's going to approach crypto, but I think those principles of caring about due process and administrative process and caring about transparency and disclosure, but also about investor choice, I suspect that all of those things will play into it."

As Commissioner Peirce described, some of the immediate crypto policy clarifications might simply come by way of the SEC stepping aside from being the front and center regulator by paving way for the CFTC. In addition, the SEC could potentially lay out rules for experimentation via a regulatory sandbox Commissioner Peirce has floated before.

"I think we need to be thinking about things in the in sort of different stages," she said. "Or is there a regime that we can set up — no action letters, those kinds of things, exemptive orders — and then is there clarity that we can provide early on to say, 'you know what, some of this stuff is just not securities transactions.'"

Given the years-long battle with the crypto industry and seemingly never-ending tally of Wells Notices sent to "non-compliant" crypto companies for potential securities violations, any ending to the threat of using enforcement actions would likely earn applause from operators in the crypto space. Commissioner Peirce expressed her excitement over that about-face already beginning.

"There'll be a lot of adjustments and a lot of things going on in those first weeks and months, but I think we can make some early progress," she said. "I would be happy if at the end of 2025 ... people to get to the point where the regulatory structure is there — they know what the rules are, they're complying with the rules, but they're spending their time talking about the technology and its potential. That would make me very happy."

Coinage members can watch our full interview with Commissioner Hester Peirce above. To support our community-owned outlet, own it with us, and unlock other exclusive benefits, mint one of our Membership Passes today or Stake with us today! Chat with Coinage in our Discord.