Crypto Task Force Head Hester Peirce Reveals the SEC's 2025 Playbook

In her most recent appearance on Coinage back in December, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce hinted that quick, "day-one" changes were afoot at the agency. But almost no one thought they'd move this quick.

In just a few months, the SEC has reversed a staff accounting bulletin that prevented banks from custodying crypto, posted a memo giving memecoins the all clear, and launched the Crypto Task Force, led by Commissioner Peirce to focus squarely on rules that actually work for Web3.

"Sitting in the driver's seat... I like it better," Commissioner Peirce joked in a new Coinage interview — her first since becoming head of the Crypto Task Force as she reflected on the massive slate of early wins. "I think the biggest win is just having the ability to work with the staff in the building towards something productive."

In that endeavor, the SEC could soon get a new boost — reports are that President Trump's pick for new SEC Chair Paul Atkins could get confirmed as soon as the end of March. And if everyone is aligned, it's likely the changes could even accelerate. When we asked Commissioner Peirce if there were any important issues being held up by the confirmation, she pointed out that the presumptive Chair — Commissioner Peirce has previously worked with — isn't the type to want to hold anything up.

"I don't think that he would be someone who would say, 'If you could get something done, wait until I get here.' No, he'd say, if you can get it done, get it done," she said.

And that might explain why the SEC has gotten so much done since Commissioner Peirce teased the changes that were to come back in December. And even though some of those things may have been predictable — like repealing the staff bulletin known as SAB 121 that was rebuked by both the House and the Senate — I couldn't help but ask Commssioner Peirce about the way in which it was done. In the announcement of SAB 122 on X, which repealed SAB 121, Commissioner Peirce tweeted, "Bye, bye SAB 121! It's not been fun."

"I think there definitely is some that reflected a little bit of my frustration over the past several years," she said, calling years under Chair Gensler a missed opportunity. "We had the opportunity to work on some really difficult and interesting legal and policy issues, and instead we tried to use our enforcement division to just hammer an industry into a mold that doesn't work for it. That's that's not even helpful for anyone."

Instead, Commissioner Peirce's new Crypto Task Force is adamant about removing uncertainty, and the threat of enforcement actions in crypto. That has played out in the courts, with cases being dropped against Coinbase, Ripple, and others. And yet — as quick as the SEC has moved — there are still a few key issues that surprisingly haven't been tackled yet, including staking via ETFs, or in-kind redemptions. Commissioner Peirce hinted at revisiting both, but so far, the agency hasn't issued guidance to change either.

"There's a process for doing all of these things. We have to consider all of these issues," she said declining to say whether when her official term is up in June was a fair expectation. "I do want people to know the door is open, but it's hard for me to predict timelines."

But if there is one thing the new and improved SEC has certainly made a splash with — it was their February memecoin memo that absolved the SEC of having any jurisdiction over them. The memo made sense, given Commissioner Peirce's noted beliefs that investors should have the freedom to invest as they wish. But even under Chair Gensler, memecoins thrived since they were seemingly the only area safe from the SEC's hammer. That led to a proliferation of memecoins, which still today have arguably contributed to toxic norms in crypto.

"There are a lot of bad things that happen outside of the SEC's jurisdiction, and a lot of them really give me concern and I worry about them. But that doesn't mean it's my responsibility to fix them," she said. "If Congress decides, 'Hey, the SEC would be the perfect regulator for memecoins,' they can give us that authority if they choose to."

But Congress certainly has bigger fish to fry. Progress is being made on the GENIUS stablecoin bill that could finally let banks interact directly with stablecoins and clarify rules for issuers. And the next bill up after that would finally set rules for crypto market infrastructure. And as more traditional market participants look to get involved in crypto — like Citadel now looking to explore its role as a crypto market maker, I couldn't help but ask if recreating the stock market onchain might lead to some unintended market failures.

"One of the things that has looked most promising to me about the technology underlying crypto is the ability to eliminate intermediaries, because intermediaries have been a historical point of failure, a historical point where customers could be taken advantage of," she said. "I think we shouldn't deny the fact that just because you slap the word crypto on something, doesn't mean that problems that we've seen in other areas are not going to crop up here."

That's perhaps an eerie warning as traditional finance power players move in quickly to establish their newly granted freedoms.

"We can learn lessons from things that have happened in the past, whether in the crypto world or outside the crypto world, that have not gone well, where people have gotten hurt, " she said. "But we can also remind people out there in the world who are looking to get involved in this, as investors or consumers, that there are risks and they have to go in with their eyes wide open."

If there is one thing people can take away from our chat to feel more confident, it's that while Commissioner Peirce's term technically ends in June, she revealed she'd be willing to stay past her term, as is allowed by the law, if the President obliges.

"Although my term does end in June, there's a provision that allows you to stay on for some amount of time if your replacement hasn't been named," she said. "It's not that I have to walk out the door in June, and I do think there's quite a bit of work to be done."

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.