Hester Peirce’s SEC Crypto Task Force is hitting the road to engage crypto startups

SEC is signaling that it wants to engage the crypto industry by going on a nationwide tour.

Summary

• The SEC’s Crypto Task Force is going on a road trip to talk directly with key industry stakeholders
• Commissioner Hester Peirce will be talking to audiences in Boston, Dallas, LA, and NYC, among others
• Participants will come mostly from smaller crypto startups, with 10 or fewer employees

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is signaling the intention to talk with the crypto industry more. On Wednesday, September 17, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that its Crypto Task Force is going on a nationwide tour. The initiative will enable participants in major U.S. cities to speak directly to the commissioner and longtime crypto advocate Hester Peirce.

The tour will last from August until December 2025, and will include cities like Boston, Dallas, Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and more. Moreover, it will feature speakers from the industry. Specifically, Commissioner Peirce wants to hear from small crypto startups, notably those with fewer than 10 employees and less than two years old.

So far, the agency has unveiled the participants for the Dallas, Berkeley, and Boston events. The speakers will include a diverse mix of startups, such as those working on tokenization, DeFi infrastructure, compliance, and consumer apps.

For instance, in Dallas, representatives from projects like Real World Equity and Asset Token Ventures will talk about tokenization. In Berkeley and Boston, speakers from Stable and Fairmint will talk about pressing regulatory issues around stablecoins and equity fundraising.

SEC changes tune as leadership changes

After the leadership change in 2024, the SEC has dramatically changed its approach to enforcement in the crypto space. Lawsuits threatening harsh penalties were settled, and the agency has taken a softer approach to the industry. Still, market participants are waiting for decisions on a slew of altcoin ETFs awaiting approval.