SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce worries that stricter rules by US officials will hurt the crypto market

SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce worries that stricter rules by US officials will hurt the crypto market

Efforts by US officials to place stricter rules on the $1.6 trillion cryptocurrency market risks dampening innovation and investment, Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce said in an "I am concerned that the initial reaction of a regulator is always to say 'I want to grab hold of this and make it like the markets I already regulate'," Peirce told the FT in an interview published Wednesday. "I am not sure that's going to be great for innovation." Peirce, a well-known proponent of cryptocurrencies dubbed "Crypto Mom," is a lawyer whose specialty is in financial market regulation. Her comments arrived as US regulators have been working to address a range of issues surrounding the market for digital assets. Meanwhile, volatility in the market is in the spotlight with major swings this year for bitcoin that have pushed its price above $64,000 followed by a recent slide to less than $35,000. The SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission for years have been trying to determine which cryptocurrencies are considered commodities and which are considered securities. A s aims to bring the agencies together to work on rules for digital assets. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler told Congress in May he . He