SEC ‘Earnest’ About Finding Workable Crypto Policy, Commissioners Say at Roundtable

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking proactive steps to establish a regulatory framework for the burgeoning cryptocurrency market. Commissioner Hester Peirce, who heads the agency’s crypto task force, expressed optimism during the SEC’s inaugural crypto-focused roundtable, indicating that the staff is eager to collaborate with the crypto industry to clarify regulatory expectations. “We’re ready to seek earnestly to find a workable framework,” Peirce stated during the March 2025 event titled “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity.”

The SEC is faced with the challenge of developing a taxonomy that accurately reflects the diverse nature of crypto assets. Peirce highlighted the difficulty of translating traditional security characteristics into a set of categories encompassing the wide array of digital assets currently available and those that may emerge in the future.

In a related statement, Mark Uyeda, the agency’s acting chairman, acknowledged the complexity of defining which crypto assets fall under securities laws. He emphasized that while recent SEC statements have indicated that certain sectors, such as memecoins and mining, may be exempt from these laws, there exists a “definite possibility” that other crypto categories may be classified as securities in the future.

Uyeda also noted that the ongoing regulatory discussions represent the views of the commission as a whole, which currently comprises three members. He pointed out the importance of providing guidance through common rulemaking rather than relying solely on enforcement actions for classifying crypto assets.

During the roundtable, a panel of legal experts examined the complications surrounding securities laws as they apply to cryptocurrency. Sarah Brennan, general counsel at Delphi Ventures, articulated a significant concern: the fear of regulatory scrutiny has led many early-stage projects to delay public offerings, mirroring the trajectory of traditional initial public offerings (IPOs). This reticence restricts the wide distribution typical of crypto assets, relegating many projects to prolonged private stages without the benefits of a broad market launch.

The panel featured a range of perspectives, including critiques of current regulatory approaches. Former SEC attorney John Reed Stark raised alarms about the utility of many crypto assets, stating that much of the market appears to lack tangible value. “If it all went away tomorrow and you weren’t speculating in it, you wouldn’t care,” he remarked.

Legislative scrutiny is also intensifying regarding the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation. Ahead of the roundtable, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jake Auchincloss sent an open letter to Uyeda, inquiring about the SEC’s rationale behind its staff statement on memecoins and whether communications with the White House influenced that guidance. They pressed the SEC to clarify how it differentiates between memecoins and broader cryptocurrencies and to provide transparency on the assets analyzed during the drafting of the statement.

As the SEC navigates this evolving landscape, the dialogue between regulators and the cryptocurrency industry is poised to shape the future of digital asset regulation in the United States.