Off and Running: The SEC’s New Crypto Journey Begins

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) stance on digital asset regulation has shifted materially following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, and the momentum continues to build. 

Major moves happened in January – including Gary Gensler’s departure from the SEC; the SEC’s rescission of the controversial Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (which imposed severe accounting requirements on certain custodians of crypto assets); the appointment of pro-crypto Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda; and Uyeda’s January 21 announcement of a new SEC agency-wide Crypto Task Force chaired by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. 

In this post we focus on the potential impact of the new Crypto Task Force.

Crypto Task Force open for business

Commissioner Peirce (affectionately known as “Crypto Mom” within the digital assets space) is a longtime supporter of the digital assets industry and its quest for regulatory clarity, having previously proposed two Token Safe Harbors, and dissenting (often with Uyeda) from numerous SEC crypto enforcement decisions. 

On February 4, 2025, she announced that the Crypto Task Force is open for business, sharing on X a link to the brand-new Crypto Task Force Website, in addition to the transcript of a speech she gave, entitled “The Journey Begins.” 

Notably, on the same day Commissioner Peirce’s statement was published, David O. Sacks, the White House’s first ever Special Advisor for AI and Crypto – and the Chair of the Working Group on Digital Assets Markets created by President Trump’s recent crypto-focused Executive Order – also gave a public speech highlighting the need for regulatory clarity when it comes to digital assets, stating that “financial assets are destined to become digital.” 

A comprehensive roadmap

Commissioner Peirce’s speech provides a comprehensive roadmap of the work that the Crypto Task Force intends to undertake, covering topics from token offerings, to exchange traded products (ETFs), to special purpose broker dealers, a potential cross-border regulatory sandbox and more. Commissioner Peirce’s speech statement highlights ten (10) strategic areas of focus as the Crypto Task Force commences its review of crypto regulation. 

1. Security Status: The Crypto Task Force plans to examine and assess different types of emerging crypto assets. 
    
2. Scoping Out: The Crypto Task Force will work to identify areas that are outside the scope of the SEC’s jurisdiction, and in doing so, will consider public comment and no-action request letters.
    
3. Coin and Token Offerings: The Crypto Task Force is contemplating recommending that the SEC provide temporary prospective and retroactive relief for coin or token offerings, provided certain specified disclosures and conditions are maintained. This relief would enable certain tokens to trade freely in secondary markets without categorization as securities, although it would require issuers of tokens to provide both initial and ongoing information to the SEC and presumably the investing public. 
    
4. Registered Offerings: For new issuers interested in registering token offerings, the Crypto Task Force is also considering recommending that the SEC modify existing paths to registration, including Regulation A and crowdfunding. 
    
5. Special Purpose Broker-Dealers: The Crypto Task Force seeks to expand existing guidance under a SEC no-action letter that would allow special-purpose broker dealers to maintain custody of both crypto asset securities and crypto assets that are not securities.
    
6. Custody Solutions for Investment Advisers: The Crypto Task Force is also working on developing custody solutions for investment advisers, aiming to establish a regulatory framework for safely managing client crypto assets. 
    
7. Crypto-Lending and Staking: The treatment of crypto-lending and staking programs under securities laws is another priority, with the Crypto Task Force undertaking to determine whether these programs are covered by securities laws and if so, how the programs can be structured. 
    
8. Crypto ETFs: The Crypto Task Force will work with the SEC to clarify the approach used to approve or disapprove ETF applications. The intersection of blockchain technology with clearing agencies and transfer agents is also a focus. 
    
9. Clearing Agencies and Transfer Agents: The Crypto Task Force intends to focus on how crypto interacts with clearing agency and transfer agent regulations, looking to modernize traditional financial markets and collaborate with market participants who are interested in using blockchain technology, such as through the tokenization of securities. 
    
10. Cross-Border Sandbox: Given the global nature of crypto projects, the Crypto Task Force is exploring a cross-border sandbox approach to allow limited, temporary experimentation with potential scalability for more permanent solutions.

A call for public input 

In addition to calling for written input from the public and openness to requests for meetings, Commissioner Peirce also indicated that the SEC staff welcomes requests for no-action letters to assist the Crypto Task Force in determining the scope of areas related to the regulation of crypto assets that fall within the SEC’s jurisdiction. 

More about the Crypto Task Force 

Commissioner Peirce will be assisted by Richard Gabbert, Senior Advisor to the Acting Chairman, and Taylor Asher, Senior Policy Advisor to the Acting Chairman, who will serve as the Crypto Task Force’s Chief of Staff and Chief Policy Advisor, respectively. 

Notably, Landon Zinda, who most recently served as the Policy Director of the prominent digital asset advocacy organization, Coin Center, will also be joining the SEC and the Crypto Task Force as a Senior Advisor. Previously, Zinda spent many years working in Congress, in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and one of his key focuses was crypto policy. 

Key takeaways 

• The moves underscore the SEC’s commitment to both promoting innovation in the crypto industry and ensuring adequate investor safeguards, as the overarching purpose of the Crypto Task Force is to develop – in Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda’s words – a “comprehensive and clear regulatory framework” for crypto assets.
   
• Commissioner Peirce’s speech, which was highly critical of the SEC’s past performance on crypto, is another signal that significant change in the US legal regime around crypto is imminent. Commissioner Peirce also cautioned that change will take some time, and that the SEC will always take its mission of protecting investors very seriously and never tolerate fraud or manipulation. 
   
• Clients operating in the cryptocurrency space should closely follow updates from the Crypto Task Force to understand potential impacts on compliance and regulatory obligations. 

Looking ahead

More details regarding the Crypto Task Force’s specific mandates and strategies are expected to unfold in the coming months, and we will continue to monitor the new Crypto Task Force webpage for any further developments.

For more about recent developments and updates to changes to digital asset regulation, please see our prior post, Navigating the New Crypto Terrain: Trump’s Week 1 Approach to Digital Financial Tech.