SEC Creates AI Task Force As Crypto Roundtables Tour the Nation

The SEC’s Crypto Task Force is about to go on a five-month tour of the US, in a new series of roundtables. Hester “Crypto Mom” Peirce is looking for small entrepreneurs nationwide to help inform federal crypto policy.

Meanwhile, the Commission is also building a new Task Force to tackle AI questions. So far, its duties focus on optimizing the SEC itself, but the mission could grow from here.

SEC Task Force Goes Nationwide

Since its creation, the SEC’s Crypto Task Force has been a dynamic tool for crypto regulation. Reaching out to foreign governments and industry leaders alike, the Task Force has been diligent in getting all the facts. To further this goal, it’s about to hit the road.

This spring, the Commission’s Crypto Task Force hosted a series of roundtable discussions in Washington, DC. They covered a wide array of topics and were the first venue for Paul Atkins, the SEC’s newest Chair, to speak on crypto.

Today, the Task Force’s leader, Commissioner Hester “Crypto Mom” Peirce, explained her plans for hosting more:

“We want to hear from people who were not able to travel for the roundtables that took place this past spring in Washington, DC and may not have had a voice in past policymaking efforts. The Crypto Task Force is acutely aware that any regulatory framework will have far-reaching effects, and we want to ensure that our outreach is as comprehensive as possible,” Peirce said.

Over the next five months, the SEC’s Crypto Task Force will host roundtables across the US. Unlike the previous discussions, these will focus on smaller entrepreneurs.

Peirce issued an open call for Web3 teams with 10 employees or fewer to share their views on friendly crypto policy. This will help ensure that the SEC’s regulatory recommendations better reflect Web3’s decentralized ethos.

A New AI Working Group

While Peirce and her team tour throughout nine major US cities, the SEC will build a new Task Force. In line with the AI sector’s growth potential, this group will seek to explore it. This seems very bullish, but there’s a catch.

Valerie Szczepanik will head this new organization, and she is not an SEC Commissioner. She is a serious veteran of the Commission’s blockchain and Web3 research, but nonetheless has much less authority than Peirce.

For now, it’s clear that the AI Task Force will mostly focus on improving the SEC:

“The AI Task Force will empower staff across the SEC with AI-enabled tools and systems to responsibly augment the staff’s capacity, accelerate innovation, and enhance efficiency and accuracy,” Atkins claimed.

Still, it’s a start. If the AI Task Force manages to materially benefit the SEC, its role could expand to informing federal policy. In the long run, this group could be a powerful tool for pro-AI political change across the US.