SEC task force continues meeting with firms over crypto regulations

Many are speculating that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), under new leadership since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, could drop some of its enforcement cases against crypto firms.

According to multiple filings with the SEC as of Feb. 24, in the last seven days, officials with the commission’s crypto task force have met with representatives from several firms and industry leaders to discuss issues “related to regulation of crypto assets.” The task force, launched on Jan. 21 and headed by Commissioner Hester Peirce, met with the advocacy group Crypto Council for Innovation, infrastructure provider Zero Hash, crypto investment firm Paradigm Operations, and Strategy executive chair Michael Saylor.

All firms and individuals involved with the discussions provided documents suggesting that the SEC reevaluate its previously held position that many cryptocurrencies were securities under its purview. The commission has several pending enforcement actions against firms, the majority of which were filed under then-Chair Gary Gensler, but dropped an investigation into Robinhood Crypto and OpenSea. It may decide to end a case against crypto exchange Coinbase.

The reported meetings followed similar discussions between the SEC crypto task force and representatives of the Blockchain Association, Jito Labs, Multicoin Capital, and others. It’s unclear whether the commission intends to move forward with charting a different regulatory path under acting chair Mark Uyeda or wait until the US Senate confirms an official head for the agency — anticipated to be former commissioner Paul Atkins.