As SEC’s ‘Crypto Mom’ Peirce Exits, Industry Urges Continuity in Pro-Digital-Asset Policy

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The U.S. digital-asset industry is urging policymakers to carry forward the approach championed by Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leaves office on October 2. Peirce has long been known in the industry as “Crypto Mom” for her friendly stance toward digital assets.

Will Schwartz, the Blockchain Association’s head of policy, wrote in a CoinDesk opinion piece on October 2 that “it is now up to us to carry Commissioner Peirce’s mission forward.” He wrote that the technology already exists to let consumers control their own data while still meeting legal obligations.

Schwartz said Peirce spent the past eight years at the SEC pressing for clear rules rather than regulation by enforcement. He wrote that she helped shape a regulatory framework for digital assets by proposing a token safe harbor and leading the SEC’s crypto task force. In his view, she also consistently argued that the SEC’s investor-protection mandate requires clear regulatory guidance for the fast-growing digital-asset industry.