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United States Securities and Exchange Commission Member Hester Peirce advocated for more decentralization in the US financial system, as well as a softer approach to crypto regulation and enforcement. During a conversation with CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos at the ETHDenver conference on February 29, Peirce highlighted the benefits of decentralization for the US financial system.
Striking Statements from a Prominent Figure
Peirce, a former lawyer appointed to the SEC by former President Donald Trump in 2018, is affectionately known as “Crypto Mom” for her support of the industry and frequent opposition to the overregulation of crypto assets. Peirce made the following statement:
“Centralization means concentrated risks. Decentralization could actually bring resilience and strength to the financial system. So, I would like to see more resilience and strength.”
At the beginning of her talk, Peirce addressed questions about proposed legislation that aims to treat decentralized technologies such as network nodes, validators, mining pools, and blockchain software as financial institutions.
Sigalos also discussed how the broker/dealer rule would redefine the classification of exchanges and how it could potentially affect and encompass decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized exchanges, and developers, to which Peirce commented:
“This whole concept of decentralization is the exact opposite of what we are used to at the SEC. It’s really hard to figure out what to do when you have people working together and interacting with code rather than one person or institution.”
SEC and the DeFi Space
SEC, on February 6, adopted rules that would require more market participants to register with the agency and comply with federal securities laws, thereby increasing oversight over the DeFi space. Peirce added that the SEC is currently only in enforcement mode, but there should be provisions that allow projects to grow and become decentralized without the threat of litigation:
“You don’t go after people who want clear rules on how to proceed in this area.”
The SEC official also discussed a wide range of crypto-related topics including the future of the agency following the upcoming US presidential elections, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, central bank digital currencies, and the specter of government financial oversight.
