SEC Pierce The US government needs to remember who they serve.

SEC Pierce reminds the US government of its responsibilities.

Author: Casey Wagner, Blockworks; Translation: Song Xue, LianGuai

Hester Peirce, Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), believes that as cryptocurrency companies try to cope with an increasingly stringent regulatory environment, federal agencies and lawmakers need to remember who they serve.

“The government develops its own interests and starts to forget that it represents people’s views on things,” Peirce said in a panel discussion at an unconference held in Austin, Texas on Monday.

Tom Emmer, a Republican representative from Minnesota, said in the panel discussion that the path forward for the U.S. cryptocurrency industry will be challenging.

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“This is not good,” said Emmer, who serves as the Republican Majority Party Whip in the House. “The question is whether [cryptocurrency innovation] is going to happen in this country or are we going to push it out?”

Brian Quintenz, former commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and current a16z Crypto Policy Director, agreed and added that the industry is in a “fairly dark place” in the eyes of regulatory agencies.

However, Christine Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said that there have been some positive signs.

“But what we’re starting to see with Ripple, Grayscale […] and now what we’re seeing with Coinbase is that these companies are willing to pay legal fees because they believe the interpretations by the agencies are wrong, and we’re starting to see the courts line up with these agencies, so I think that solidifies the industry,” Smith said.

Despite continued enforcement actions by the SEC and the CFTC against various participants in the industry – with only some of the participants having the resources for lengthy and expensive court battles – Congress has attempted to advance legislation.

Emmer said that a key part of positive, innovation-friendly legislation reaching the president’s desk is educating leaders.

“Advocate for everything you do,” Emmer said. “That’s the whole point of educating our members.”

The panel took place the day before SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee, which is expected to focus on the agency’s oversight of the cryptocurrency industry.

In his opening statement released on Monday, Gensler emphasized his long-standing position that cryptocurrency businesses need to comply with existing laws.

“Given that most crypto tokens are subject to securities laws, then most crypto intermediaries also have to comply with securities laws,” Gensler wrote. “Given the widespread non-compliance with securities laws in this space, it’s not surprising that we see a lot of problems in these markets.”

Pierce is known for opposing many of the agency’s decisions related to cryptocurrency and told the audience that leaders need to consider how to incorporate emerging technologies into regulatory frameworks without sacrificing the rights and innovative capabilities of citizens and companies.

Pierce said, “There really needs to be a philosophical struggle to remind people of the basic principles of privacy, freedom, and the ability to interact with others without government intervention.”

She continued, “We have made rules, and we need to figure out how to intersect with these rules, but I think sometimes we should also ask questions and see if we are making fundamental mistakes.”

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