The Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Hester Peirce, stated during the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas that the regulator will not provide protection for investors in meme coins such as TRUMP and does not plan to regulate similar digital assets.
This is reported by Business • Media
SEC Changes Its Approach to Meme Coins and Cryptocurrencies
Peirce, known in the crypto community as “Crypto Mom,” emphasized that investors remain without government protection regarding meme coins. She cited the NFT boom of 2021, when the market rose and fell without any intervention from the SEC. According to her, a similar approach is currently being applied to meme coins.
“If you expect the SEC to protect you in the realm of meme coins, you should not count on that,” Peirce said during the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.
The TRUMP token, associated with the family of U.S. President Donald Trump, surged rapidly after its launch in January 2025, reaching a market capitalization of $15 billion, but then quickly collapsed. In February, the SEC stated that most meme coins are not considered securities and therefore are not subject to regulatory oversight. This aligns with the new policy of the Trump administration, which is reducing pressure on the crypto market.
Political Context and Transparency Issues
Peirce stressed that the SEC needs to establish clear rules for the market rather than reacting situationally. This indicates a gradual shift in the regulator’s approach to cryptocurrencies under the new political conditions.
During this period, the SEC also closed the case against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao. After reaching a settlement with the Department of Justice last September, Zhao was released from prison and now has close ties with the U.S. presidential teams.
Despite assurances from the White House regarding the absence of conflicts of interest, some Democratic senators, including Richard Blumenthal, have expressed concerns about the potential influence of foreign and corporate players through the Trump family’s crypto assets. The Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, French Hill, also noted that crypto projects linked to Trump could complicate the legislative landscape for stablecoins.