Attending a recent event in London, Hester Pierce, commissioner of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a Republican lawmaker, spoke her views on the European Union’s landmark crypto regulation. The US lawmaker held the EU’s crypto regulation in high regard and also suggested that America can draw inspiration from it.
Peirce who is widely renowned as a crypto mom said that the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation can serve as a model for crypto regulation to be developed in the US. She said she likes the idea of allowing innovation wherein the authorities fulfill their responsibility of informing people about the risks involved but let them make their own decisions. Quoting her:
I share with you the approach of telling people – look, there are risks here, you can choose to opt into those risks or opt-out. And then trying to figure out a regulatory model that allows for innovation.
The SEC commissioner added that the UK’s regulatory approach could also be looked up to for gaining inspiration. Peirce presented her views while attending a panel at the Financial Times Crypto and Digital Assets Summit in London.
Peirce’s recent statement also validates the information that Mairead McGuinness, the European commissioner for financial services and in charge of initiatives to examine the potential for a coordinated strategy with U.S. officials and to share the EU’s experience with MiCA, shared in December.
She asserted that the US is very interested in Europe’s regulatory strategy and thinks that in the near future, the US and Europe may cooperate on crypto regulations.
While Peirce is serving as the commissioner of the US SEC, she is often found to have locked horns with Gary Gensler, chairperson of the agency. Peirce and Gensler have very contradictory approaches when it comes to regulating the crypto sector. While Peirce often advocates for the sector highlighting its benefits, Gensler criticizes it highlighting the risks involved.
Under the leadership of Gensler, the regulator has been on an enforcement spree bringing major crypto entities like Kraken, Paxos, and Coinbase under its radar. The SEC has sent out Wells Notices to a list of crypto companies alleging them of violating federal securities laws including Coinbase and Paxos.
To this, the lawmakers as well as industry participants questioned Gary Gensler, calling him out for biases and hypocrisy and calling for balanced crypto regulation. Notably, the Republican lawmakers have been leading the pro-crypto vendetta and have also called a bill to remove Gensler from his office.
In the context of Europe, the EU officially passed its flagship MiCA regulation last month following a series of delays. While the bloc received widespread attention for its regulation, some have suggested it to be insufficient for regulating the sector. Nonetheless, the crypto community has applauded the regulation and suggested the region rise as a crypto hub.