SEC Commissioner Reminds Industry Experts “What Crypto Is Really About” As Market Rebounds

• Hester Pierce reiterates the aim of Web 3 and blockchain as she addressed industry experts in the wake of a potential bull run.
• The SEC commissioner called for collaboration between web3 project leads, teams, and communities along with the Commission to prevent recurring scams.
• The market expects tighter regulations this year across the board with the recent comments made by the SEC, NYDFS, etc.

Last year recorded frequent digital asset scams leading to huge losses hitting over $2 billion as rug pulls, bridge, and flash loan attacks surged, leading to increased scrutiny by authorities.

Hester Pierce, a commissioner with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that industry players should learn from the bad experience of last year as they plan to shape the future. Speaking at the Duke Conference for Digital Assets, she told team leads to remember the purpose of cryptocurrencies and to carry the community in line.

“Underlying these lessons is the truth that technology takes time to develop and often must combine with innovative developments in other fields to realize its full potential,” she added.

She stressed that the essence of digital assets is not to drive up prices and abandon them for blind users but should always look to the advantages of the underlying blockchain technology for inspiration. She said the goal was about “solving the trust problem” while transacting with people they don’t know. 

“Traditionally, people have looked to centralized intermediaries or governments to solve this problem, but technology like cryptography, blockchain, and zero-knowledge proofs offer new solutions.” 

As the market flipped green this year with assets tapping highs not seen for months, bad actors may be tempted to carry out rug pulls and other similar scams. According to Pierce, reducing bad actors is better for both the SEC and crypto executives in their push for safe trading practices. 

Pierce calls for synergy

The SEC commissioner also added that the Commission’s current approach of regulating the market through “regulation by enforcement” will take the Commission 400 years to achieve its aim at this rate. 

“If we continued with our regulation-by-enforcement approach at our current pace, we would approach 400 years before we got through the tokens that are allegedly securities.”

To create better rules and proper governance mechanisms over the sector, she called for partnership between the SEC and industry players. According to her, industry leads should be on their toes to stamp out corrupt and shady practices in the sector rather than leaving them solely in the hands of the authorities. 

Finally, she urged experts to constantly build on the value of digital assets despite little input from authorities. 

“Crypto’s value proposition depends primarily on the builders of this technology, not on regulators like me who lack technical expertise and stand on the periphery looking in.”