Hester Peirce, the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force, stated that the agency will likely wait for the Senate to confirm a chair before deciding on a regulatory agenda for digital assets.
Speaking at a Federalist Society panel on February 11, Commissioner Peirce mentioned that it would be premature for the SEC to establish a regulatory agenda for cryptocurrencies without a Senate-confirmed chair who could take charge.
Following the departure of Gary Gensler on January 20, Mark Uyeda assumed the position of acting chair. However, the Senate is expected to vote on President Donald Trump’s nomination of former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins in the near future.
Peirce said, “Acting Chairman Uyeda is doing a great job, and the agenda is working — we haven’t stopped working. But we assume that sometime soon, if Chairman Atkins is confirmed as chairman, he’ll come in and want to set his agenda.”
On January 28, one week after taking office, Trump nominated Atkins to be an SEC commissioner for a term ending in June 2031. As of February 11, the Senate Banking Committee had not yet considered his nomination, which would require a majority vote to move to the chamber for a full floor vote.
Peirce also mentioned that the SEC is “trying to figure out” a path forward for rulemaking on digital assets. In January, an appellate court ruled that it would not order the commission to develop clear rules for crypto firms but agreed with Coinbase’s view that the SEC’s denial of a rulemaking request was “arbitrary and capricious.”
After the establishment of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, the commission requested delays for at least two of its previously filed enforcement actions, indicating that the agency’s work in developing a regulatory framework could impact its position.
An Illinois judge granted the SEC’s request for a 30-day extension in a crypto case against Cumberland DRW, while a District of Columbia court had not responded to a similar request in the commission’s case against Binance at the time of publication.
Peirce and Uyeda, both Republicans, currently serve on the SEC alongside Democratic Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw. It is unclear whether Trump plans to nominate a fifth commissioner to fill the leadership position at the financial regulator if Atkins is confirmed.