Crypto Asset Developments in the New Administration

Published On:11 April 2025

SEC Crypto Task Force. SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda recently launched a crypto task force dedicated to developing a regulatory framework for crypto

assets. Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead the task force. Up to this point the SEC has relied primarily on enforcement actions to regulate crypto assets. Clarity for market participants has been lacking. The task force intends to coordinate with other federal departments including the CFTC and will draw clear regulatory lines, provide realistic paths to registration, craft sensible disclosure frameworks and deploy enforcement resources judiciously. Task

force members were announced earlier this month.

SEC Crypto Roundtable. The SEC Crypto Task Force will host its first Roundtable on key areas of interest in the regulation of crypto assets from 1pm – 5 pm on March 21, 2025. Agenda, panelist biographies and selected publications are available on the SEC Crypto Task Force web page.

Commissioner Peirce Statement. In a comprehensive statement entitled There Must Be Some Way Out of Here, Commissioner Hester Peirce outlined a series of wide ranging issues and questions that require further deliberation and input from market participants. For example, market participants have expressed concern that the Howey investment contract test is complex and difficult to apply. The SEC should consider a non-exclusive safe harbor (“Rule 195”) to provide a time-limited exemption from the Securities Act registration requirement for offers and sales of crypto assets during their development. This would permit network developers with a grace period to develop a decentralized network. Custody requirements have been a challenge for broker-dealers and registered investment advisers. Also of interest are best execution and recordkeeping obligations. See also, The Journey Begins by Commissioner Peirce.

Meme Coins. The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance provided guidance

that “meme coins” are not securities. A “meme coin” is a type of crypto asset inspired by internet memes, characters, current events, or trends for which the promoter seeks to attract an enthusiastic online community to purchase the meme coin and engage in its trading. Meme coins typically are purchased for entertainment, social interaction, and cultural purposes, and their value is driven primarily by market demand and speculation. In this regard, meme coins are akin to collectibles. The Division reasoned that a meme coin does not constitute any of the common financial instruments specifically enumerated in the definition of “security” because, among other things, it does not generate a yield or convey rights to future income, profits, or assets of a business. Any expectation of profits that meme coin purchasers have is not derived from the efforts of others; the value of meme coins (like collectibles) is derived from speculative trading and the collective sentiment of

the market. The Division’s guidance was met with swift criticism from

Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw who said: “The purpose of written guidance from SEC staff is to promote understanding of, and compliance with, the federal securities laws. Today’s guidance from the Division of Corporation Finance turns that concept on its head. It advances an incomplete, unsupported view of the law to suggest that an entire product category is outside the bounds of SEC jurisdiction.”

Changes to CFTC Regulatory & Enforcement Priorities Will Bring Clarity to Innovators. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham announced a shift in enforcement priorities to align

with a new Justice Department (DOJ) policy that ends "regulation by prosecution" in the digital asset industry. This change supports the Biden Administration’s executive orders and focuses enforcement on fraud and manipulation rather than technical regulatory violations.

Namely, Pham welcomed the Department of Justice’s new policy prioritizing prosecution of intentional wrongdoing over punishing technical regulatory missteps and directed CFTC staff to comply with Executive Order 14219, which mandates lawful governance and alignment with Administration policy.

With respect to crypto assets, the CFTC will no longer pursue digital asset registration violations unless there’s clear evidence of willful misconduct and the CFTC will de-prioritize certain enforcement actions.

This marks a major policy shift toward clearer regulatory guidance and reduced legal uncertainty for innovators in the digital asset space, while still holding intentional fraudsters accountable.