Blockchain
By Bruce Buterin
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Peirce vs. the Skeptics Inside the Beltway. There's a real split forming. Some regulators have been pushing hard for strict controls on…
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What the SEC Has — and Hasn't — Said Officially. Here's the catch: Peirce's views don't represent official SEC policy.
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The Bigger Picture for Crypto Regulation. Peirce's push fits into a broader fight over how financial regulators handle emerging tech.
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Hester Peirce wants regulators to stop treating crypto privacy tools like they're guilty by default.
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Her argument is pretty straightforward: these tools keep transactions confidential, and that confidentiality matters for ordinary investors just as much as it does for anyone else.
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Not everyone in regulatory circles agrees.
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There's a real split forming. Some regulators have been pushing hard for strict controls on privacy-focused crypto tools, viewing them as obstacles to financial surveillance and…
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Her case rests on the idea that blanket restrictions do more harm than good. Instead of sweeping prohibitions, she wants regulators to get specific: identify the actual risks…
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And she's not wrong that the stakes are high. Privacy-enhancing technologies in crypto cover a wide range — from basic transaction obfuscation to more complex cryptographic…
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Here's the catch: Peirce's views don't represent official SEC policy. The commission hasn't committed to any specific regulatory changes on privacy-enhancing technologies in…
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Read also: Crypto Card Monthly Volume Hits $7.8 Billion, Up 230% Since 2025
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That gap between her personal stance and the agency's official posture is worth watching. The SEC has been aggressive on crypto enforcement broadly — that's no secret.
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The industry is basically waiting. Firms building privacy-focused tools, wallets with enhanced anonymity features, and protocols that rely on zero-knowledge proofs are all…
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Peirce's push fits into a broader fight over how financial regulators handle emerging tech. The tension isn't unique to crypto — regulators have wrestled with encryption,…
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Her argument is essentially that good regulation requires understanding what you're regulating. Privacy tools can make financial systems more secure, she says, not less.
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