Here’s How SEC Crypto Taskforce Is Working to Bring Clarity to the Industry

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce shares insights into the SEC crypto task force’s operations.

Amid a barrage of enforcement actions coupled with claims of a lack of clear path to compliance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, especially its recently resigned Chair Gary Gensler, has often been vilified as the crypto industry’s enemy number one.

However, under the pro-crypto Donald Trump administration, all of this looks set to change. For starters, the agency has quickly launched a crypto task force to pursue crypto-specific rules, a clear shift from the previous administration’s stance that decades-old securities rules were sufficient to guide the nascent market.

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Now, this same task force has outlined its ongoing efforts, offering market participants a glimpse of what to expect.

Crypto Task Force Priorities Unveiled

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, also known as “crypto mom,” spearheading the SEC’s crypto task force, has offered insights into its activities in line with its goal of guiding the creation of clear rules for the industry.

In a statement on Tuesday, February 4, Peirce outlined a long list of issues the tax force is prioritizing to satisfy its mandate.

These priorities include working to clearly define what constitutes a crypto asset security, developing a halfway solution to allow token offerings provided issuers offer certain disclosures, and clarifying how and if lending and staking fit into securities laws.

The crypto Task Force webpage is live. Join us for the drive (toward crypto clarity): https://t.co/o2jzNUhJ5D and https://t.co/9AwTYkmOCw

— Hester Peirce (@HesterPeirce) February 4, 2025

At the same time, the group is considering amendments to allow new types of crypto exchange-traded funds and potentially allow in-kind redemption for existing products.

With these efforts, Peirce asserts that the task force intends to navigate the SEC out of the regulatory “mess” she accuses the previous administration of creating.

Still, she cautioned that the SEC’s planned shift was not meant to encourage an “anything goes” attitude.

“SEC rules will not let you do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want. Some of these rules will impose costs and other compliance burdens that some may find irritating, and the Commission will use its enforcement tools when necessary to pursue noncompliance,” she wrote.

Nonetheless, a recent New York Times report suggests that the agency is significantly downsizing its crypto enforcement unit. At least over 50 lawyers and staff members have been reassigned, the report said.