U.S. SEC’s Hester Peirce Says Many Memecoins Are Likely Outside the Regulator’s Jurisdiction

Hester Peirce, a Commissioner at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has suggested that many memecoins may not fall under the agency’s oversight due to the current regulatory framework.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Peirce explained that determining whether a memecoin falls under the regulator’s jurisdiction depends on specific facts and circumstances. Under existing regulations, a significant number of these tokens likely do not qualify as securities. She emphasized that the growing popularity of memecoins raises broader questions about how digital assets should be classified and regulated in the future.

Peirce noted that the U.S. Congress or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) could provide clarity on the issue.

Memecoins have been a part of the crypto ecosystem for over a decade. In the past year, their popularity has reached fever-pitched levels. This renewed enthusiasm drove the overall market capitalization of memecoin up by 500%, reaching $120 billion in 2024. The growing popularity of memecoins has also attracted high-profile figures, including U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently launched his own meme token.

Amid this growing interest, Delaware-based asset manager Tuttle Capital has filed for ten 2x leveraged ETFs focused on memecoins and major cryptocurrencies, including XRP, Solana, Litecoin, Chainlink, Cardano, Polkadot, and Trump and Melania-associated tokens. This filing makes Tuttle the first U.S. asset manager to propose ETFs for emerging digital assets.

Meanwhile, Peirce also criticized the SEC’s current approach to crypto regulation, arguing that the agency has placed unnecessary roadblocks for industry players seeking guidance.

“We’ve just put roadblock after roadblock up against people who are trying to come in and talk to us,”

she told Bloomberg.

“So all I’m asking is that we have an innovation policy that allows people to innovate, that allows people to try new things.”

Last month, Peirce was appointed to lead a newly established crypto task force by SEC’s acting chair, Mark Uyeda. The task force is saddled with the responsibility of determining which crypto tokens should be classified as “non-securities.” This initiative is expected to provide regulatory clarity on a long-standing debate that has created uncertainty for many industry participants.

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