Yesterday, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce sat down for a hearth chat with NYDIG founder Ross Stevens at New York Metropolis’s Bitcoin-themed bar PubKey.
The 2 traversed various matters throughout their dialogue, together with why it’s necessary that the world has a permissionless community and asset like Bitcoin in addition to why transactional privateness must be a proper for U.S. residents.
Peirce didn’t mince phrases throughout the dialogue, but she additionally spoke with nuance and thoughtfulness as she responded to questions from not solely Stevens however from members of the viewers throughout a Q&A session, as properly.
On Permissionlessness
Towards the onset of the discuss, Peirce highlighted the truth that Bitcoin is a device for freedom fighters as a part of a broader theme of why it’s essential that permissionless know-how like Bitcoin exists.
She mentioned that she typically thinks about what it could have been like if somebody like Harriet Tubman had had Bitcoin.
Stevens then posed a query in regards to the danger of a state of affairs through which a U.S. president points an government order that authorizes the federal government to confiscate U.S. residents’ bitcoin, like the best way Government Order 6102 enabled the federal government to grab U.S. residents’ gold in 1933.
Peirce admitted that “it’s nonetheless doable for an Government Order like 6102 to occur within the U.S.,” and made the case that it’s as much as us to stay vigilant in order to not allow one thing like this to occur once more.
“To guard ourselves from one thing like Government Order 6102, we should reaffirm the founding rules of America and maintain the federal government accountable to these rules,” mentioned the commissioner.
Stevens added that a few of Bitcoin’s qualities, akin to the flexibility to retailer one’s seed phrase in a single’s thoughts, make it extra immune to seizure than gold and, due to this fact, a greater freedom-preserving know-how. (The subject of proudly owning precise bitcoin, or holding one’s personal bitcoin personal keys, as a method of embracing the true nature of Bitcoin as a permissionless know-how versus having bitcoin publicity through spot bitcoin ETFs or via custodians arose at many factors within the dialogue.)
Additional alongside within the dialogue, Peirce burdened the significance of the U.S. authorities persevering with to view code as speech, a subject that Stevens introduced up and has written extensively about.
“It’s necessary as regulators for us to deal with code as speech,” started Peirce.
“In any other case, builders must examine their code with the federal government earlier than publishing it,” she added, earlier than additionally noting that builders having to do that might stifle and undermine their capacity to publish open-source software program.
On Privateness
Midway via the discuss, Stevens requested Peirce if Individuals must be free to make use of crypto mixers.
Earlier than instantly commenting on the matter, Peirce spoke extra broadly to the idea of economic privateness and that it appears to be of little concern to most U.S. residents.
“It’s outstanding to me how little folks care about monetary privateness,” mentioned Peirce. “It’s very private the way you spend your cash — and we’ve ceded a lot privateness.”
Relating to crypto mixers extra particularly, Peirce acknowledged that she believes Individuals have a proper to make use of such know-how.
“There’s presupposed to be a presumption of innocence on this nation,” she mentioned. “Applied sciences that will let you do issues on chain but in addition will let you protect privateness are actually necessary.”
Firstly of the Q&A portion of the occasion, Thomas Pacchia, the bar’s proprietor, highlighted the risks of the Financial institution Secrecy Act (BSA) in that it mandates that customers flip over important quantities of private knowledge to monetary establishments and requested what the chances had been of in the future seeing the act repealed.
Peirce agreed with Pacchia that there’s nice danger in monetary establishments holding a lot of their prospects’ knowledge however identified that the concept of repealing the BSA is some extent of deep rivalry in Washington, D.C.
“Actually dangerous issues can occur if a centralized monetary establishment has loads of details about you, however it’s such a 3rd rail in D.C. to speak in regards to the Financial institution Secrecy Act due to the worry that dangerous actors will rush in,” mentioned Peirce.
Listening Intently
Peirce has acknowledged various instances, most lately at Bitcoin 2025, that she believes that the U.S. authorities works for the American folks.
It’s clear that this isn’t simply scorching air or a speaking level, as evidenced by how rigorously she listens to the questions posed to her and the way considerate her responses to mentioned questions are.
For instance, I requested Commissioner Peirce if there was any likelihood we’d finally see in-kind redemptions for the spot bitcoin ETFs for retail buyers.
Whereas she admitted that it’s “unlikely,” she supplied me some house to make my case for why they’re necessary and concluded the trade with me by stating that she’d “give it some extra thought.”
She responded to Stevens and to every member of the viewers who posed a query with the identical sort of care and consideration, which appeared to be appreciated as she broached matters as delicate as having the authorized proper to carry one’s Bitcoin keys and to transact with bitcoin privately.
Peirce additionally appeared genuinely involved about ensuring that regulators don’t get in the best way of Bitcoin and crypto fulfilling their promise as each freedom know-how and a substitute for the standard monetary and financial programs.
“I’m involved that we’ll stunt development if we do issues the improper method,” Peirce concluded, eliciting a heat spherical of applause from the Bitcoin lovers in attendance.
