SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, affectionately known as “Crypto Mom” by some, began her speech on Monday at the regulator’s “SEC Speaks” event, with a deliberately selected history lesson on the American Revolution. It was clear that she was setting the stage for a perspective that would stand in stark contrast to the stance of her previous boss, former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.

(Samuel Whittemore depicted at the 1775 Battle of Concorde by Don Troiani / U.S. Army)

Unlike Gensler, Peirce recognized the potential of crypto early on, going as far as proposing a safe harbor approach to regulating decentralized assets back in early 2020. She refined her proposal in 2021 and discussed it once again on Monday. A safe harbor framework would involve acknowledging that some crypto assets may start out as securities but may no longer be classified as such over a period of time.

For instance, tokens issued prior to a network launch for the purpose of funding development of the said network would initially be deemed securities but wouldn’t be subject to securities laws during a pre-determined grace period. Once the platform is fully functional and its maintenance becomes sufficiently decentralized, and assuming this happens prior to the expiration of the grace period, the network’s token ceases to be a security, and can trade freely in secondary markets.

But Peirce’s ideas were stymied by Gensler’s regulation by enforcement method, which decimated the industry and turned the SEC into crypto’s primary adversary. And on Monday, she stood in defiance of the former chairman, who once quipped, “Of the nearly 10,000 tokens in the crypto market, I believe the vast majority are securities,” at the 2022 installment of SEC Speaks. With the newly appointed Chairman Paul Atkins in her corner, Peirce recounted the story of Samuel Whittemore, a hero of the eighteenth-century American Revolution, before tying it to her own revolutionary perspective, which is that unlike Gensler, she believes most crypto assets are not securities.

“The most popular topic of discussion by far in written input and industry meetings has been security status,” Peirce explained. “My short answer to the question, ‘Are crypto assets securities,’ is that most currently existing crypto assets in the market are not.”

She went on to discuss many nuanced legal points, stressing the importance of economic realities and explaining that “the line demarcating transactions covered by the securities laws from those that are not, is still hazy.” She pledged to attendees that the SEC will, going forward, continue its new journey of providing regulatory clarity instead of wielding the stick of regulation by enforcement. But by far, the most consequential of her statements was her take on the security status of crypto assets. The commissioner then ended her speech with a final reference to Whittemore.

“Two hundred and fifty years after Samuel Whittemore made his stand behind the stone wall, I stand here today grateful for the freedom for which he fought,” Peirce said. “I hope that all of us can look up from the minutiae of the securities laws for a moment to celebrate a quarter of a millennium’s fight for freedom.”

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