Crypto Mom started her second term as SEC Commission today, and it's good news for Crypto
Crypto needs all the help it can get in positions of regulatory power, and it will keep one of the few it has had over the last several years.
Hester Peirce, or "Crypto Mom" (the name many in the crypto community have given her) started her second term as SEC commissioner today, and that is a big deal for crypto.
The official announcement can be seen here:
(Source: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-184)
Crypto doesn't have a ton of friends in positions of power, at least it hasn't historically, so this is a good thing.
From the President of the United States, to influential congressman, to the Treasury Secretary, to the FED Chairman, all have taken their shots at bitcoin over the years.
Peirce, however, has been one of the lone bitcoin fans over the past couple years...
Over the last few years, Peirce has been one of the few voices of reason from the SEC as far as crypto investors are concerned.
She continually has preached against stifling innovation by being too heavy handed.
She has repeatedly pushed for a "step softly" approach by the SEC with granting grace periods for developers in order to not stifle innovation.
Specifically, in February of this year she drafted a proposal to provide a safe harbor for developers that would grant a three year grace period to build a decentralized network without fearing SEC legal action.
One of her quotes from the proposal:
“Although the safe harbor would preempt state securities laws, it would not stand in the way of state anti fraud actions. If anyone lied in connection with selling tokens pursuant to the safe harbor, the SEC or a state could bring an enforcement action [...] We all know that there are plenty of those kinds of “projects” polluting the crypto space.”
(Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/secs-cryptomom-proposes-safe-harbor-framework-for-token-projects)
More from that proposal can be seen in the link above.
Some other notable moves/accomplishments from Peirce relating to crypto...
- Promoted the idea of Self-Regulation for crypto markets when possible
- Opposed the SEC's enforcement action against Telegram and Ton
- Opposed the SEC's rejection of the Wilshire Phoenix Bitcoin ETF
- Openly question whether the SEC is following their mandates in regards to Crypto Regulation
Crypto needs Peirce at the SEC...
There are currently 5 SEC Commissioners and it's great news for crypto and bitcoin to keep one of their friends in one of those positions.
The current commissioners can be seen here:
Unfortunately, the SEC Chairman (Jay Clayton) has been rather critical of bitcoin and crypto and hasn't really been the most welcoming to the technology as a whole, though as of now, he will only be in office for another 10 months unless he gets reappointed, but he probably will.
Having Peirce in there helps balance things out. Plus she has tendency to voice her opinions openly on Twitter and the like, which helps let people know what is going on, and that is a great thing for the industry as a whole.
Letting crypto grow and develop organically without the worry of legal action from regulators is paramount for this technology to reach its full potential.
And with friends like Peirce in powerful positions, it certainly helps keep that possible.
Stay informed my friends.
-Doc