After the departure of hawkish former chairman Gary Gensler, the acting chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mark Uyeda, has quickly established a "Crypto Task Force" led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, known as the "Crypto Mom", to develop a "comprehensive and clear regulatory framework" for crypto assets.
The SEC today announced the member list of the Crypto Task Force, which is composed of staff from the Office of the Acting Chair and other divisions and offices of the Commission, who will provide recommendations to the Commission on crypto-related matters.
Hester Peirce, who leads the task force, said: "The Crypto Task Force demonstrates deep expertise and a proactive commitment, and with the help of other excellent Commission staff and the public, will seek practical solutions to the complex regulatory issues surrounding cryptocurrencies."
SEC Launches a Series of Crypto Roundtable Discussions
On the same day, the SEC also announced that it will host a series of crypto roundtable discussions to discuss key areas of crypto regulation with industry participants.
The first phase of the series, themed "Spring Sprint Towards Crypto Clarity", will kick off on March 21, with the first session focusing on "How We Got Here and How to Get Out - Defining a Safe Harbor". The public will be able to attend and watch the sessions live, and recordings will be made available afterwards.
Crypto Mom Hester Peirce said: "I look forward to leveraging public expertise to develop a workable crypto regulatory framework. The roundtable discussions are an important part of our engagement with the public."
House Establishes Bipartisan Congressional Crypto Caucus
Additionally, it is worth noting that according to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett's report last night, Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are joining forces to establish a Congressional Crypto Caucus, co-led by House Republican Whip Tom Emmer and Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres. This bipartisan initiative aims to advance crypto-friendly policies in the House.
Terrett explained that unlike the Congressional Blockchain Caucus established in 2017, the new Congressional Crypto Caucus will function more as a "voting bloc" to mobilize support for the digital asset legislation, including stablecoin and market structure bills, currently being drafted in the House.
Tom Emmer and Ritchie Torres both later retweeted to confirm the news. Emmer stated that the caucus is being formed in response to the calls of millions of American voters in November who elected candidates prioritizing the development of U.S. digital assets and blockchain technology.
This Caucus is an ideologically aligned, bipartisan member group that can quickly mobilize to support key digital asset initiatives in Congress. We will continue to work to ensure America remains the global leader in building and innovating the next generation of the internet.
Last month, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott announced his goal of getting both the stablecoin and market structure bills passed in the Senate and on the President's desk by April. It is unclear if there is enough bipartisan support to achieve this, but Emmer and Torres hope the Congressional Crypto Caucus can help facilitate the legislation's smooth passage in the House.
Trump to Host First White House Crypto Summit on Friday
The SEC's and Congress's establishment of crypto working groups and caucuses echo the Trump administration's plan to host the first White House Crypto Summit this Friday (3/7). Trump is expected to deliver a speech at the summit, which will be moderated by the White House's AI and Crypto Czar, David Sacks, and attended by prominent crypto founders, CEOs, and investors, as well as members of the President's Digital Assets Working Group.
Eleanor Terrett revealed today that the White House has not yet issued official invitations and notifications for the Friday crypto summit, and industry participants are still awaiting their invitations, with three industry executives she interviewed expected to attend the summit.
Due to the White House's hosting of a cryptocurrency summit, which strengthened Washington's support for the cryptocurrency industry, and Trump's announcement to include Altcoins such as XRP, SOL, and ADA in the cryptocurrency strategic reserves, the Bitcoin price surged on Monday, briefly returning to $95,000. However, with the cloud of the US-Canada-Mexico tariff war looming, earlier today Bitcoin fell below $84,000, and as of the time of writing, it is temporarily reported at $83,896, a drop of over 10% in the past 24 hours.
