SEC commissioner Hester Peirce denies endorsing crypto projects

OpenVPP’s claim of “working alongside” SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce quickly earned clarification from the regulator. The project had posted a photograph of its CEO with Peirce during the Chicago stop of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force tour, hinting at a collaboration between the two entities on energy tokenization.

Commissioner Peirce noted on X, “I welcome the chance to meet with crypto projects to hear from them about their regulatory challenges, but I do not ‘work alongside’ or endorse private crypto projects or firms.”

Her remarks are in line with the SEC official view, which stresses that participation in task force discussions does not mean agency endorsement. This is because the agency continues its national outreach to boost industry dialogue.

A new approach to regulation

Commissioner Hester Peirce, often referred to as “Crypto Mom,” is headlining a national tour, which will actively connect with early-stage crypto endeavors. Her focus is on start-ups that usually do not have visibility in policymaking but play a crucial role in innovation.

Peirce has stressed, however, that regulations should not impede growth but should reflect the realities experienced by developers. “We want to understand what it’s really like for people building the future,” she said at one session.

The initiative represents a departure from the agency’s traditional enforcement-focused approach, which instead takes a more dialogic and inclusive approach. The tour has been described as a rare chance to share experiences and challenges with regulators who are actively listening rather than reacting with sanctions.

Expanding industry participation

The task force began its roadshow on August 4, after previous roundtable sessions in Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Scottsdale, Atlanta, and Ann Arbor. According to the SEC’s register of meetings, over 300 organizations have engaged with the task force since February.

These include major firms like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Kraken in addition to younger ones like 0xMiden, XKOVA, and PawChain. The Chicago session showcased this mix with both established and emerging names taking part. The task force will convene with industry stakeholders on September 25 in New York City and continue its tour of the country through October.

Other signs of reform are emerging from the top of the agency as well. SEC Chair Paul Atkins announced “the time for crypto is now,” vowing to modernize the US securities framework and scaling up the agency’s “Project Crypto” initiative to bring markets on-chain.

Speaking at the OECD’s first-ever Roundtable on Global Financial Markets in Paris on September 10, Atkins said the SEC is moving away from enforcement and will have clear and consistent guidance on digital tokens, custody, and trading platforms. He called the change the beginning of “a golden age of financial innovation on U.S. soil.”

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