News Scrap

The United States Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce revealed that a Pro Crypto transition is underway at the Commission as Gary Gensler, the SEC Chief looks to step down on Jan 20. 

In a live interview, Commissioner Peirce revealed a lot of transitions happening in Washington at the moment and the SEC is not left out.

She explained that the commission has started taking preliminary transition steps in preparation for the arrival of the new SEC Chairman. 

Some processes that can be done at the moment are already underway in anticipation of the change of administration by Jan 20. 

Crypto To be addressed from Day one by the new Chairman 

Commissioner Peirce revealed that cryptocurrency is a front-burner issue for the commission and the new acting Chairman would address crypto-related issues from day one.

She believes an open conversation between the regulator and the regulated is long overdue and the new administration will be looking at setting that in motion. 

Commissioner Peirce hinted at what the SEC would probably look like on Day one under Paul Atkins who is the favorite to replace Gary Gensler at the Commission.

She explained that she worked under Paul Atkins when he was a commissioner and the favorite to replace Gary Gensler is carefully committed to administrative processes and capital formation. 

She believes these attributes will reflect how he handles the crypto industry should he be picked as the new chairman of the SEC. 

Crypto ETFs Approval criteria to remain unchanged 

The new SEC administration would approach fresh applications for more ETF products by screening them against the established precedent. 

Commissioner Peirce explained that the New SEC administration would not be doing anything different when it comes to approving ETF products for crypto assets.

It is to be recalled that the Gary Gensler-led SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs in January and July respectively. There have been calls for new ETFs with Solana leading the speculation to be the next in line. 

The New SEC administration would be approaching these applications as they come with the appropriate precedents. 

Would the SEC become too Pro crypto under Trump? 

Commissioner Peirce finally addressed concerns raised by the interviewer on the leaning of the SEC as regards Crypto under Donald Trump.

She explained that the United States has the best capital market in the world because the regulatory bodies do their bit and present the American people with a range of investment options. 

She pointed out that the fact the US capital market is open to all and anybody can make it here without a lot of money or connections is a testament to the regulatory pedigree of bodies like the SEC. 

She believes this regulatory pedigree will continue to exist in the US financial space and will be extended to innovative asset classes like crypto.