Hester Peirce
@HesterPeirce
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SEC Commissioner since 1/2018. My tweets may not reflect the views of the SEC or any other SEC Commissioner. No direct messages, but [email protected]
Washington, D.C.
Joined June 2012
Bye, bye SAB 121! It's not been fun: | Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 122.
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@SECGov The SEC is a regulatory agency with an enforcement division, not an enforcement agency. Why are we leading with enforcement in crypto?.
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If government wants to bring law to crypto, it should behave lawfully:
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Apparently, bitcoin is not ripe enough, respectable enough, or regulated enough to be worthy of our markets. I dissent:
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We have a lot of work to do at the SEC to advance free markets, capital formation, investor choice, and innovation. I'm delighted that Paul Atkins will be returning to lead the effort. Having worked for him during his last stint at the agency, I cannot think of a better person.
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The string of bitcoin spot ETP denials has continued into 2022. The rationale underlying them doesn't get any better with time.
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As regulators seek to protect investors from fraud and get them good disclosures, we ought also to respect investors' right to make decisions for themselves, experiment, and use the latest technology to trade and invest:
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The latest regulatory agenda shows that the SEC will be busy in the upcoming months, but it won't be working on the right things:
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Congratulations to our new Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda:
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"Respect for individual liberty is a core American value: People have the presumptive right to make choices that affect themselves and their families, and government should be wary of overriding those choices."
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Congratulations, Chairman Roisman! I look forward to your leadership of the SEC.
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In addition to ironing this t-shirt (which republishes code from a comment letter), will I need to register as an exchange before wearing it? "It depends," per the SEC's latest release:
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The SEC's Investor Advisory Committee will be discussing crypto tomorrow. It's a good opportunity for the Commission to rethink its approach to crypto regulation: You can submit comments here:
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Getting lots of questions re stablecoins & SEC: Facts & circumstances of course, but SEC should defer to Congress, which is actively considering the issue. In the meantime, we & other regulators could hold public roundtables. Enforcement actions aren't the way to write the rules.
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Congratulations to our incoming Chairman Gary Gensler. I'm looking forward to working with you. Thanks to Acting Chair Herren Lee for your leadership over the past several months.
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I'm happy my colleague Commissioner Crenshaw thought about the safe harbor, but I'd be happier if she thought about it differently--as a way to achieve valid investor protection goals without inhibiting the development of user-controlled networks:
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Commissioner Roisman's work has benefited investors, the capital markets, the SEC, and our nation. I cannot overstate the privilege of serving alongside someone so humble, hard-working, patriotic, and principled.
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I predict that next week's open meeting will not be short:
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I plan to be in Miami on November 15-16. Please email CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov if you want to meet with me.
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Congratulations, Gary Gensler, on getting sworn in as Chairman of the SEC:
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It's great to see creative thinking on what a crypto safe harbor might look like. This version incorporates some elements of mine, but is more targeted. Open and concrete discussion can help us develop good crypto regulatory policy in the US.
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Everyone asks me when a spot bitcoin ETP will be approved. Here's my answer:
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Incumbents that try to block new technology and new entrants run the risk of closing themselves off from the most interesting and dynamic parts of the world:
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@nlw Nice to see @GaryGensler addressing crypto issues, but the existing securities laws don't work well for certain aspects of crypto & people's freedom to interact using new technology has produced the innovation at the core of our prosperity. Looking forward to working together.
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I'm hiring a lawyer to advise me on corporation finance, accounting, and crypto issues (among others):
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Americans shouldn't have to ask the SEC for permission to invest, but today's accredited investor rule at least offers people a path to ask permission based on their education, rather than simply telling them "no, unless you're rich":
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SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda is right that "regulation through enforcement does not yield the outcomes achievable through a process that involves public comment." Scattershot enforcement actions aren't the best way to protect investors.
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Thoughts on Poloniex action, which reflects our continued enforce-don't-figure-out-how-to-reasonably-regulate approach:
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Our Investor Advisory Committee, which advises the SEC, has some openings. Someone with extensive experience investing in crypto would provide a valuable perspective on the Committee. Here's how to put your name in for consideration:
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My thoughts on the SEC's unusual practice of telling defendants who settle with us that they can't ever say anything bad about the settlement:
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I plan to be in San Juan, Puerto Rico on December 6-7. If you would like to meet with me regarding securities regulatory issues, please email CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov.
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We at the SEC need to do our part to ensure that the US is a "Why not?" kind of place where people are free to pursue their dreams:
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New guidance on custody of digital asset securities. Baby steps:
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Safe harbor 2.0 is up. Thanks for all the comments on version 1. Looking forward to your feedback on this version:
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Commissioner Uyeda and I responded to today's denial of Coinbase's rulemaking petition:
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The SEC exhibits hostility toward technology and disclosure in a new rule proposal: Here's my initial take: and.
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Yesterday's staff orders disapproving SRO rules related to a number of bitcoin ETFs are stayed pending Commission review. See, for example:
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The new Regulatory Flexibility Agenda is out and ready to set off a regulatory rip current:
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SEC's Division of Investment Management has a lot of questions related to crypto funds. I'm happy that there's finally an online forum for people to respond:
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We should be able to consider contingent settlement offers in enforcement actions:
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Thanks for the mention, but I look forward to the day when the top 100 people in blockchain doesn't include any regulators:
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Prescriptive cybersecurity disclosure rulemaking by the SEC is a backdoor way to regulate the substance of companies' cybersecurity programs. We should stick to our limited role as a regulator of public company disclosures:
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The SEC filed and settled its first NFT enforcement action today: Here's Commissioner Uyeda's and my dissent:
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Per @CFTCstump CFTC should "fine-tun[e] its rulebook (often a hard & tedious task), because responding to technological developments & ongoing market dynamics primarily through enforcement is neither good for the marketplace nor sustainable for the agency." Applies equally to SEC.
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My statement on today's custody proposal. Looking forward to comments from the public. This one affects crypto, among many other issues:
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We've talked a lot over the last 3 years. I hope under Chair Gensler we'll finally get comfortable with American investors having access to crypto-based securities products. Here's a new IM statement on funds with bitcoin exposure:
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In NYC. Anyone want to talk securities over a quick coffee Friday morning? If so, email CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov.
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Protecting investors is important, but the government needs to have a good reason to prevent people from investing their own money as they choose:
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My latest thoughts on cypto: TLDR: We need to approach crypto regulation carefully in 2023, but people in crypto shouldn't wait for regulators to solve problems that manifested during 2022.
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Sorry for the delay. Here's the safe harbor draft (at the end of the speech). Let me know what works and what doesn't:
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I look forward to working with you @SECJackson to open the doors to innovation, but we're not a merit regulator issuing seals of approval, so let's encourage investors to do their own work to decide whether an investment is right for them:
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Regulators need to hop out of their helicopters and onto the free range:
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It takes a majority vote of the SEC's Commissioners to authorize enforcement actions and new rules. Votes that precede the final resolution of a matter generally will be made public only after the matter is final.
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Thanks, Ammon, for your work as my counsel over the last couple years. Wishing you the best in the next chapter of your career back at the Senate Banking Committee.
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Enforcement action against a DINO (decentralized in name only) project:
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Here's a chance to weigh in with ideas for clear crypto rules:
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In English: the Commission (Chairman and Commissioners) delegates some tasks to its staff. When the staff acts in such cases, it acts on behalf of the Commission. The Commission may review the staff's action, as will now happen here.
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Nice reminder by Commissioner Roisman that writing good capital formation rules isn't always glamorous work, but it's essential for investors, communities & the economy:
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If figuring out how to deal with the SEC on crypto issues feels like a regulatory version of an escape room, here's the latest clue:
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Nice statement by @CFTCstump on the importance of writing clear rules and explaining how practically to apply those rules to new situations:
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I will be in West Palm Beach, FL on May 16, 2022. If you want to meet with me about any securities regulatory issues, please email CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov. (As usual, no discussions re ongoing enforcement actions.).
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Sad to see FDIC Chairman McWilliams announce her resignation: She had a clear understanding of the need to regulate with an appreciation for the role innovation can play in improving our lives. She tells us why here:
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@rileyjt3 That's part of the problem--when we announce these cases, we won't say which digital assets were securities. See Commissioner Roisman's and my comments here:
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@TAIGxrp Rather than analyzing the status of particular assets, I need to focus on building a sensible and clear regulatory framework for crypto.
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SEC's exam division released a risk alert on digital assets. I welcome your feedback:
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Now that we've had 100 years of women being able to vote as they choose, maybe it's time to give women and men full freedom to invest as they choose. Happy #WomensEqualityDay2020.
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It's very hard to bid farewell to my counsel Coy Garrison, whose wise advice on all things corp fin, crypto, and accounting I will miss greatly.
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The new staff accounting bulletin on crypto-assets: and my thoughts:
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@CoinDesk @realDannyNelson Although I did not write a dissent (yet?), I voted against the action. It's another example of the SEC's imprecise legal reasoning in crypto cases, which only adds to the uncertainty for crypto projects in the US.
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Allowing sufficient time for public comment on rules is RATional š
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This settlement stretches the "in connection with the purchase and sale of securities" requirement under 10b/10b-5 beyond where I think it should go:
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Crypto regulation offers the SEC and CFTC a new opportunity to work together, @CarolineDPham and I write:
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I'll be in Chicago next Friday afternoon (5/13). I have some time if anyone wants to meet to discuss SEC issues (not ongoing enforcement actions). Email CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov.
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I will be at the University of Central Florida on April 1, 2022 for UCF's FinTech Summit. Happy to meet to talk about securities regulatory issues. As usual, no discussions re ongoing enforcement actions. Email CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov with UCF in the subject line.
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@USOCC Thanks @BrianBrooksOCC for working to break down regulatory barriers to a better financial system.
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I plan to be in Austin, TX October 7-8. If you would like to meet with me, please send an email to CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov.
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The Commission is holding an open meeting on Friday to consider reopening the comment period on the proposal to amend the definition of "exchange":
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To all of you who think I am a terrible SEC Commissioner--and there are lots & bots of you--this speech shows that I'd be even worse at being Commissioner of the other SEC: Itās Not Just Scope 3
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Some thoughts on NFTs being on the enforcement menu at the SEC: Order is here:
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I spoke with great students at Univ of Chicago, Harvard, and Yale over the past several weeks, but the most intellectually engaged audience with the best questions was a group of sixth-graders at @StatesmenPrep.
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I plan to be in San Francisco Feb. 14-16. Happy to meet to discuss securities issues. (Sorry, can't talk about particular enforcement cases). Email CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov with San Fran in the subject.
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I donāt support fining a company $10m for not disclosing what its director didnāt tell it, but that's what we did today:
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I will be in San Francisco in early March. If anyone wants to meet with me to talk about barriers to raising capital, the crypto safe harbor, or anything else related to SEC regulatory issues, please contact me at CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov.
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Congratulations to Val Szczepanik on the new status given to the FinHub. I look forward to working with her to make the SEC a better regulator when it comes to crypto, fintech, and innovation more generally:
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Thanks to CryptoDad, aka @giancarloCFTC, for making facilitation of innovation a priority during your tenure. I guess your departure makes me a single Mom, but I'm looking forward to working with new CFTC Chairman Tarbert.
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