SEC leadership shakeup likely to begin agency crypto reset in new Trump administration: Reuters

Top Republican leads at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are weighing whether to start a process that could lead to more clarity on how the agency views cryptocurrency and could decide to review pending enforcement cases, according to reporting from Reuters.

SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda could begin refitting the agency's views on crypto as soon as next week, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing people briefed on the situation.

Peirce and Uyeda did not respond to a request for comment from The Block.

The incoming Trump administration is expected to take a friendlier approach to crypto amid promises to create a strategic bitcoin reserve and said he would end an "unlawful and un-American crackdown" on the crypto industry. The SEC will also likely be very different.

Trump tapped crypto-friendly regulator Paul Atkins to lead the SEC, as Democratic Chair Gary Gensler prepared to exit. Fellow Democratic SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga also said he planned to step down, leaving Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw as the sole Democrat. Crenshaw's future at the SEC is unclear as time ran out for the Senate to renominate her to her post amid pushback from the crypto industry.

That sets both Republican commissioners likely to have significant sway ahead of Atkins' official Senate confirmation. Uyeda has called the SEC's crypto approach a "disaster" and said guidance is needed for the crypto industry. Peirce has also slammed the agency's approach and has previously floated a three-year " safe harbor period ," where innovators are allowed to get blockchain-based digital projects up and running without having to register and follow certain federal securities laws.

The SEC has brought a number of enforcement actions against firms in the crypto industry, including fraud charges and violations around not registering lawfully with the agency.

The SEC is expected to soon begin reviewing pending crypto cases and could decide to freeze some of those that do not involve fraud, Reuters also reported.