Expectations from the US SEC Task Force for Crypto Regulations

It is barely 24 hours since Donald Trump entered the White House, and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a crypto-focused task force.

The new task force, which popular Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead, is focused on driving the crypto regulatory framework.

According to the announcement, the task force will “set the SEC on a sensible regulatory path.”

Mark Uyeda Makes First Move Toward Crypto Regulations

With Gary Gensler’s exit from the agency, Mark Uyeda took over as the acting chair.

He announced the introduction of the task force on Tuesday. This follows long-standing complaints from crypto leaders about how the SEC has taken a regulation-by-enforcement approach.

As chairman, Gensler mandated that crypto firms register with the SEC, a directive that had many grey areas.

– Advertisement –

He even described all crypto, apart from Bitcoin (BTC), as securities. This ended up causing several crypto firms to violate federal securities law.

Top cryptocurrency exchanges like Kraken, Binance, and Coinbase were victims of these strict SEC enforcement actions under Gensler’s leadership.

However, Coinbase fought for clear crypto regulations. Via lawsuit, Coinbase argued that the rules in the agency were made for more traditional firms and not crypto players.

Acknowledging the situation, the Commission wrote,

“To date, the SEC has relied primarily on enforcement actions to regulate crypto retroactively and reactively, often adopting novel and untested legal interpretations along the way.”

The agency also highlighted that “clarity regarding who must register, and practical solutions for those seeking to register, have been elusive.”

However, the latest development suggests that the SEC is changing course, especially with a new Republican President.

Core Goals of the US SEC Task Force and Expectations

The task force is charged with developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets in the region.

The task force’s responsibility will be to help the Commission draw clear regulatory lines. This will hinge on providing realistic paths to registration, creating sensible disclosure frameworks, and deploying enforcement resources judiciously.

The task force’s operation will be within the confines of the statutory framework provided by Congress. Also, it will coordinate the provision of technical assistance to Congress as it changes that framework.

It will align with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and other federal departments and agencies, including state and international counterparts

A few other entities will work alongside Peirce to achieve these goals.

Richard Gabbert is serving as the Senior Advisor to the acting chairman, and Taylor Asher is the Senior Policy Advisor. Both will serve as the task force’s Chief of Staff and Chief Policy Advisor.

State of Crypto Regulations in the US

Despite the crippling approach of Gensler, it is worth noting that the crypto landscape in the US took a positive turn in 2024.

In January 2024, the SEC greenlighted spot Bitcoin ETFs from several asset managers. These include BlackRock, Fidelity, WisdomTree, and Grayscale. By the second half of the same year, the crypto industry received similar approval for Ethereum ETFs.

Also, there is also a spike in institutional interest in cryptocurrencies, largely contributed by the introduction of crypto ETFs.

The current expectation is that the US crypto ecosystem will improve with Donald Trump in power.