U.S. SEC's steadiest crypto advocate, Hester Peirce, to depart next week
The long-anticipated exit of the commissioner sometimes known as Crypto Mom is Oct. 2, announced as the agency was sending out its latest crypto work.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's longtime ally of the crypto industry, Commissioner Hester Peirce, has set a departure date for next week, marking an end to a long era in which she sought clear rules for the sector — even during the years in which the agency refused to consider crypto regulations and pursued an array of legal actions.
Her final day is Oct. 2, according to a resignation letter she posted Friday on social media site X, which emerged even as the SEC was posting yet another piece of crypto policy work meant to clear up lingering questions on how the agency is defining tokens and its expectations for how projects are marketed.
Peirce, often known as "Crypto Mom" by digital assets insiders, pushed for years to get industry regulations during the chairmanships of Republican Jay Clayton and Democrat Gary Gensler — both of whom pursued aggressive crypto enforcement agendas. She finally got a chance to work on rules during the administration of President Donald Trump. She got started even before the arrival of current Chairman Paul Atkins, having been put in charge of the SEC's new Crypto Task Force last year.
Peirce acknowledged her nickname, "Crypto Mom," in a 2019 speech during the industry-resistant era at the agency, and she also noted the agency had "hindered innovation and growth," saying, "The only guidance out of the SEC is a parade of enforcement actions and a set of staff guidance documents and staff no-action letters."