The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission's new crypto task force has said that meme coins are unlikely to fall under the watchdog's jurisdiction.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce was asked about President Donald Trump and his wife's official meme coins, TRUMP and MELANIA, and whether such cryptocurrencies would fall under the agency's jurisdiction.
The newly appointed boss of the SEC's crypto task force said such assets probably do not. President Donald Trump launched his own Solana-based meme token, TRUMP, ahead of his January 20 inauguration, with Melania Trump following suit with her own coin soon after.
"There are lots of people introducing meme coins right now," Peirce said. "But many of the meme coins out there probably do not have a home in the SEC under our current set of regulations."
The SEC did not immediately respond to Decrypt's questions.
Meme coins are cryptocurrencies based on internet jokes and subcultures, public figures, and more. Such assets are minted into existence quickly and can shoot up in value in a flash, but can also crash just as promptly. Some traders make phenomenal gains buying and selling them, but others can lose big when they suddenly become worthless.
TRUMP shot up to a high above $73 the day before the President's inauguration but has since plunged dramatically in value. Its price now stands at $15.42, down nearly 80% from that record mark, CoinGecko shows.
Commissioner Peirce last week said that the regulator was working hard to decide which cryptocurrencies should actually be considered securities, and was taking a different approach to the previous administration's way of regulating the space.
Under President Joe Biden, the SEC was tough on the crypto space, with its Biden-appointed former Chair Gary Gensler frequently suing major crypto companies for allegedly selling unregistered securities.
Commissioner Peirce—who earned the nickname "crypto mom" for her friendly approach to the space despite the SEC's previous actions—is expected to be less hostile towards companies in the industry, especially as President Donald Trump promised to help the space flourish.
Despite Commissioner Peirce's alias, she said in Tuesday's interview that she would not describe herself as an advocate of the industry, but rather a "freedom maximalist."
"Watching what's happened to crypto for the past several years has just been extremely frustrating for someone who believes that government is there to serve the American people, not to stymie them when they're trying new things," she added.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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