Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce has handed in her official notice of resignation from the United States regulatory body, set to take effect on October 2.
Peirce, frequently referred to as “Crypto Mom” due to her continuous support for transparent, guideline-oriented oversight for the digital asset sector, shared an image of her resignation document via her X profile on Friday.
Within the correspondence, she expressed gratitude to the president for the “privilege of her career” acting as a commissioner, noting that she departs the SEC while it is under the stellar direction of Chairman Paul Atkins alongside Commissioner Mark Uyeda, the remaining two Republican members.
Peirce spent approximately eight years fulfilling duties on the commission. Starting February 4, 2025, she additionally held the role of director for the organization’s Crypto Task Force. Her official term at the commission concluded in June 2025, although the agency notes that commissioners “are permitted to stay in office for roughly 18 months post-expiration if a successor has not been appointed by that time.”
Peirce to Begin Tenure as Law School Associate Professor
Cointelegraph noted back in May that Peirce intended to transition to Regent University’s law school in Virginia as an associate professor starting in November. The institution anticipates that Peirce will assist in expanding its academic offerings across multiple disciplines, encompassing federal litigation, securities oversight, and digital assets, according to the university.
The vacancy left by Peirce might not experience immediate replacement. Caroline Crenshaw, the agency’s former Democratic commissioner, stepped down this January 18 months following the conclusion of her tenure, and President Donald Trump has yet to put forward any nominations for that specific seat.
Following Trump’s assumption of office in January 2025, the SEC has fundamentally altered its strategy regarding digital currency regulation and enforcement. The agency has dropped multiple regulatory actions and probes directed at crypto enterprises, including those associated with Trump and his relatives.
Related: SEC’s ‘Crypto Mom’ calls for simpler disclosure rules, flags tokenization debate
Since its inception, the Crypto Task Force has actively investigated how current securities frameworks ought to apply to blockchain tokens and decentralized architectures.
Cointelegraph reported during June that Peirce asserted that publishing open-source software should not subject developers to federal securities oversight, addressing a prolonged debate surrounding developer liability within decentralized finance.
Peirce’s comments coincided with the SEC’s broader pivot away from what Atkins characterized as “regulation through enforcement.”
Magazine: Exchanges reporting crypto gains to IRS becomes tax nightmare
Originally published at https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-commissioner-hester-peirce-to-leave-post-on-oct-2?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound.
