A new chapter: SEC Commissioner Peirce urges quick progress as crypto regulation softens

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Hester Peirce alluded to regulators turning a new chapter for cryptocurrency and urged "quick progress" for the industry's growth.

In a speech on Thursday at the Coin Center Dinner, SEC Commissioner Peirce, also known as "Crypto Mom," apologized for the agency's past actions, which took a more critical approach to crypto than it has over the past year.

"I am sorry that over most of my tenure at the SEC I failed to convince my colleagues in government to give you a chance," Peirce said. "I hope that you and others whom you have inspired will use this time—a time in which regulatory clarity has replaced ambiguity as government’s objective—to build good things that will enhance the safety, security, happiness, and prosperity of your family, friends, neighbors, and nation."

The SEC has turned a new page over the past year toward becoming more friendly toward crypto, following the beginning of the Trump administration and the appointment of SEC Chair Paul Atkins to lead the agency. Over the past year, the agency created a Peirce-led Crypto Task Force, dropped several cases against crypto firms, and embarked on " Project Crypto " to modernize the agency's existing rules around digital assets, among other actions.

Under the former Chair Gary Gensler's authority, the agency took a cautious approach to crypto and brought several cases against large crypto firms, saying that most cryptocurrencies were securities. Gensler had also been criticized for his regulation-by-enforcement approach, which Peirce regularly disagreed with.

NFTs

One of the SEC's focuses during the last administration was non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The agency had previously brought enforcement actions and probes against a few NFT collections.

In her speech on Thursday, Peirce jokingly proposed a collection of NFTs in her speech called "the Dog's Breakfast," based on people in the crypto space, both critics and advocates. Those NFTs included on called CryptoMom that wears a "slightly befuddled expression," and another called "Lost-in-Law," — a lawyer who wears a hoodie and white sneakers and "carries a securities law book, which he has yet to open," Peirce said.

Peirce, who has said she plans to embark on beekeeping when she leaves the SEC, teased that it could come with less of a sting.

"My plan long had been to transition to beekeeping—honey is delicious and nutritious, and bees sting with less glee than most of my Twitter commenters," she said.