Source: SEC; Compiled by: Five Baht, Golden Finance

Washington, DC, January 21, 2025—Today, SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda launched a cryptocurrency working group dedicated to Develop a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto-assets. Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead the task force. Richard Gabbert, Senior Counsel to the Acting Chairman, and Taylor Asher, Senior Counsel to the Acting Chairman, will serve as Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel, respectively, to the Working Group.

This task force will draw on talented staff across the agency to work with Commission staff and the public to put the SEC on a sound regulatory path that respects the boundaries of the law. To date, the SEC has relied primarily on enforcement actions to regulate cryptocurrencies retroactively and reactively, often employing novel and untested interpretations of the law in the process. Practical solutions regarding who must register and who seeks to register have been difficult to determine. The result is confusion about what is legal, which creates an environment that is not conducive to innovation and conducive to fraud. The SEC can do better.

The focus of the working group will be to help the Commission draw clear regulatory boundaries, provide practical pathways to registration, develop a reasonable disclosure framework, and deploy enforcement resources wisely.

The Task Force will operate within the statutory framework provided by Congress and will coordinate the provision of technical assistance to Congress as Congress makes changes to that framework. The task force will coordinate with federal departments and agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as state and international counterparts.

“I look forward to Commissioner Peirce leading the cryptocurrency regulatory effort, which spans multiple SEC divisions and offices,” said Acting Chairman Uyeda.

“This effort will take time, patience and a lot of hard work. The task force will only be successful if it receives input from a broad range of investors, industry participants, academics and other interested parties. We look forward to working with The public works together to create a regulatory environment that protects investors, promotes capital formation, promotes market integrity and supports innovation,” said Commissioner Peirce.