Speaking at the SEC Speaks conference, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) member Hester Peirce called for a new era in the regulatory approach to crypto assets.
Peirce has proposed a time-limited “safe harbor” proposal that would see cryptocurrency projects exempt from securities regulations under certain conditions.
Hester Peirce: “There Should Be a Certain Period of Time for Cryptocurrencies Not to Be Considered as Securities After Their Launch”
According to Peirce’s proposal, crypto assets that could be included in the scope of investment contracts could be exempted from SEC registration obligations for a limited period of time if they meet certain transparency and investor protection requirements. During this process, projects would be given time to add functionality or decentralize the network. Peirce also said that airdrops, NFTs and some stablecoin types should be considered outside the scope of securities, and argued that clear and permanent exceptions should be made for these assets.
Peirce, who took office as the SEC’s Crypto Task Force Chair, stated that to date, the commission has created uncertainty in crypto regulation and its approach to penalizing the industry has been inadequate.
“The biggest problem with crypto is that it is not clear when a crypto asset that starts under an investment contract can be traded as an independent asset,” Peirce said, adding that clear criteria should be defined for when the investment contract’s connection with the crypto asset is severed.
Peirce also said that the Commission’s past litigation has pushed entrepreneurs out of the U.S., so it’s time to create a regulatory framework that respects investor protection but also encourages innovation. “Initial sales may be securities, but assets that become functional or decentralized should no longer be covered by that contract,” he said.
Under the new safe harbor framework, issuers are expected to be required to publicly disclose their commitments and regularly notify investors about goals such as fulfilling the technical functionality of the network or decentralization. Peirce also called for a special exemption regime to ensure that token distributions, particularly via airdrops, are not considered registered sales.
*This is not investment advice.
