The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is changing its tune on crypto, and the industry is thrilled.
On Tuesday (Feb. 4), the SEC’s Crypto Task Force went live, ushering in a new era for the Web3 space. Putting an exclamation point on the change of heart, last week the agency transferred the internal lawyer in charge of its many high-profile crypto lawsuits, Jorge Tenreiro, to an IT role.
And it’s official: there is now a dedicated crypto@SEC.gov email contact.
The SEC’s pivot isn’t happening in a vacuum. Pressure is mounting from Congress, crypto investors, and the White House to modernize the regulatory approach to digital assets.
Also on Tuesday, the U.S. “crypto and artificial intelligence (AI)” czar, David Sacks, claimed that while getting crypto legislation through Congress is “something takes time … it is something we could do in the next six months.”
A new bill floated by Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty could be what Sacks was referencing. The bill, designed to create a predictable regulatory environment for stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency pegged to the stable assets such as the U.S. dollar, creates rules for issuing stablecoin payments and requirements to back stablecoin payments with assets such as U.S. currency, Federal Reserve notes or Treasury bills.
The efforts come as President Donald Trump looks to turn America into the crypto capital of the world, and marks the latest effort in crypto’s decade-plus long history for the U.S. to create guidelines for the industry.
Read also: Trump Goes 6 for 8 on Crypto Promises During First Week
What the Crypto Task Force Will Tackle
The SEC wants the newly created Crypto Task Force to lay down a clear route so crypto businesses aren’t left guessing whether they’re breaking the law. The goal is simple: create rules that actually make sense for crypto while protecting investors from scams and rug pulls.
“The new commitment to a better regulatory environment should not be viewed as an endorsement of any crypto coin or token. Regardless of whether those tokens or coins fall within our jurisdiction, the Commission never endorses any product or service; there is no such thing as an SEC seal of approval. Spinning up coins and tokens is easy. If people want to buy a token or product that lacks a clear long-term value proposition, they should feel free to but should not be surprised if someday the price drops,” wrote SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who will lead the new task force.
Still, Peirce’s task force has a tall order. The force will be tasked with several key objectives:
- Defining what’s a security: No more legal gymnastics — crypto firms need to know if their tokens fall under SEC rules.
- Regulatory sandbox: A safe zone where companies can experiment without fearing sudden enforcement actions.
- Crypto brokers and exchanges: A framework to help legitimate platforms comply with U.S. securities laws.
- Custody rules: How firms can safely hold and manage crypto assets for clients.
- Staking and lending: Clear guidance on whether staking rewards or lending programs count as securities.
- Crypto ETFs and products: After the recent bitcoin ETF approvals, expect a fight over what comes next.
- Cross-border rules: Making sure U.S. policies don’t strangle innovation while the rest of the world moves ahead.
Peirce acknowledged that this list is neither exhaustive nor definitive but serves as an initial roadmap for the task force’s efforts.
While the SEC has had over a decade to figure out how to regulate crypto, and it’s mostly been a game of lawsuits and confusion, Peirce is insisting things will be different this time — especially if the industry gets a seat at the table. Pierce has invited companies to submit proposals and engage with the task force directly, a stark contrast to SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s approach of “regulation by enforcement.”
Read more: Making Sense of Meme Coins, Digital Assets and Crypto’s Future
Future Expectations for the Industry
Peirce emphasized that her views are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of the SEC or other commissioners. She cautioned that resolving existing regulatory ambiguities will require time and patience, given the SEC’s decade-long engagement with the crypto industry. This period has seen various enforcement actions, no-action letters and discussions, yet many issues remain unresolved.
The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Blockchain’s Benefits for Regulated Industries” found that blockchain technology has numerous potential benefits to serve the unique needs of regulated industries, including finance, healthcare, identity verification and supply chain management, to name a few.
“The largest financial institutions are eager to explore tokenized assets,” Nikola Plecas, head of commercialization, Visa Crypto, told PYMNTS in October, but he added that they require regulatory certainty to do so at scale.
Blockchain-based treasury applications are important for finance teams looking toward a more efficient and transparent financial future.
“Don’t wait,” Ran Goldi, senior vice president of payments and network at Fireblocks, told PYMNTS in October. “Start experimenting with blockchain-based payments now, or risk losing out to more agile competitors.”
