Peirce’s last day at SEC leaves crypto rulemaking with Atkins and Uyeda

Hester Peirce’s last day at the Securities and Exchange Commission is Friday, October 2, ending a tenure that put one of the agency’s strongest advocates for crypto regulation in charge of its Crypto Task Force. Her departure leaves Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioner Mark Uyeda as the commission’s remaining members, according to The Block’s reporting.

Peirce announced the date in a resignation letter posted on X September 25. CoinDesk’s Jesse Hamilton reported the letter and her planned move to Regent University School of Law. Her original post remains the direct record of that announcement.

Atkins and Uyeda marked her departure in an October 1 statement, crediting her with pressing for a workable digital asset framework long before that became the commission’s priority. Peirce first worked at the SEC from 2000 to 2008 and returned as a commissioner in 2018. The two officials said their continuing work would carry her influence.

The transition arrives with several crypto projects unfinished. In a September 28 interview with The Block’s Sarah Wynn, Peirce identified comments on Regulation Crypto Assets, final transfer-agent rules and adviser and investment-company custody as work still ahead. She also described the need to develop permanent rules following the agency’s five-year innovation exemption.

The custody effort advanced Thursday with a proposal addressing how advisers and regulated funds could hold crypto assets. That proposal is covered in [BLAKE’s existing custody report](https://blake.hrvstr.com/articles/sec-proposes-conditional-crypto-custody-paths-for-advisers-and-state-trust-compa); it remains subject to the rulemaking process.

Peirce’s interview also made clear how she wanted the agency to proceed while legislation remained unresolved: continue using the authority it already has, and seek input from both the industry and its critics. Those were her recommendations for the remaining policy work, rather than a promise that any particular proposal would become final.

She is expected to teach securities law and writing at Regent. For firms following the SEC’s crypto agenda, her departure changes the people carrying the work forward while leaving the outstanding proposals, comments and rulemaking decisions to be completed.