US SEC’s Hester Peirce Says European Regulation MiCA Could Serve as a “Model” for the US

Republican leader at the US Securities and Exchange Commission said Europe’s legislation to regulate cryptocurrency could be a model as the country grapples with how to write rules for the industry.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, also nicknamed “Crypto Mom,” spoke at a Financial Times live event this week.

“MiCA can serve as a model for us,” Peirce said.

European Union lawmakers voted in April to pass the Markets in Crypto Assets law (or MiCA). 

MiCA establishes rules for crypto aimed to ensure that crypto transfers can always be traced and for suspicious transactions to be blocked. 

The law would cover transactions above €1000 from so-called self-hosted wallets when they interact with hosted wallets. 

“The rules do not apply to person-to-person transfers conducted without a provider or among providers acting on their own behalf,” according to a statement.

Moves in the US

Peirce also said she was not optimistic about the regulatory system but said Congress is “working on some things.”

The House Financial Services Committee and House Agriculture Committee are set to introduce comprehensive legislation to oversee the cryptocurrency sector in the next month or so.

Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. have plans to introduce a revised version of the Responsible Innovation Act this spring, according to Blockworks. 

The bill, which was first introduced in June, will be more detailed when defining tokens and clarify definitions, the lawmakers said. 

The pair delegated oversight of the most popular cryptocurrencies to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission while addressing stablecoins and taxes.

Lawmakers too have held hearings regularly to discuss crypto, with one slated in the House Financial Services Committee for May 18 on stablecoin legislation.

Several bills made progress last year, but lawmakers were unable to pass comprehensive legislation on crypto.