On Jan. 21, 2025, Mark T. Uyeda, the acting chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced the launch of a cryptocurrency task force. This task force, led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, with Richard Gabbert serving as chief of staff and Taylor Asher as senior policy adviser, aims to establish a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. On Feb. 4, 2025, Peirce outlined 10 key priorities for the task force. One of the task force’s main priorities is to clarify the application of federal securities laws to digital assets, which is a question that has led to much uncertainty in the cryptocurrency industry. The task force and its determination to develop clear guidelines marks a significant shift from the SEC’s recent reliance on enforcement actions to make policy regarding cryptocurrency to a more structured regulatory approach.
The demand for clearer guidelines has been a recurring theme in the cryptocurrency world, including in securities enforcement actions. This was highlighted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in a recent decision that ordered the SEC to explain how and when securities laws apply to cryptocurrency. In Coinbase v. SEC, Coinbase petitioned the SEC to promulgate rules clarifying how and when securities laws apply to cryptocurrency. Coinbase argued that the existing securities laws do not account for the unique attributes of digital assets, making compliance with the laws economically and even technically infeasible. According to Coinbase, the SEC increased these difficulties by failing to articulate a clear and consistent position on whether digital assets are considered securities and therefore subject to securities laws.