SEC Commissioner Breaks Ties With SEC, Gensler Over Crypto Regulation

Hester Pierce of the Securities and Exchange Commission publicly reprimanded Her agency steers clear of crypto regulation by enforcement, asking whether a “hostile” regulator is the best solution for the industry.

Pierce, who was appointed as commissioner by President Trump in 2018, wrote in a statement on Thursday that he disagrees with the SEC’s claim that crypto exchanges have been shut down. Kraken’s Staking Program was a “win for investors”.

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The SEC’s action against Kraken, which was settled without admission or denial of any wrongdoing, alleged that the exchange engaged in the unregistered offering and sale of securities through its crypto lending platform. Pierce said this is not the primary issue.

“Whether one agrees with that analysis or not, a more fundamental question is whether SEC registration will be possible,” Peirce wrote. “In the current environment, crypto-related products are not making it through the SEC’s registration pipeline.”

What Pierce Aimed For, Without Directly Mentioning SEC Chairman Gary Gensler coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told on wednesday night as “regulation by enforcement” of the SEC.

“Using enforcement actions to tell people what the law is in an emerging industry is not an efficient or appropriate method of regulation,” Peirce wrote.

Gensler, lawmakers and the White House have called for stronger regulation of the cryptocurrency industry. But Gensler and the SEC enforcement department under his control have gone too far. more aggressively Than the Department of Justice or policy makers to crack down on the crypto industry.

one in Press release Announcing the Kraken settlement, SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal said the action was a move to crack down on companies that “lack the disclosures they are entitled to and when they don’t receive them”. If they are, they are harmed.”

Pierce, who disagreed on the enforcement action, indirectly disputed the basis of that claim.

“However, of most concern is that our solution to the failure to report the violations is to completely shut down a program that has served people well,” she wrote. “However, whether we need a similar regulatory solution and if that regulatory solution is best provided by a regulator that is hostile to crypto, as an enforcement action, is less clear.”