Crypto, tokenization and ETFs: SEC’s Peirce indicates openness

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce is indicating an openness to work with Wall Street on emerging exchange-traded fund products tied to cryptocurrencies and tokenization.

“We want to work with people on new products,” Peirce said during an exclusive interview this week with “ETF Edge” host Dominic Chu. “It really is a come in and talk to us about what you’re trying to do. We want to work with you toward being able to experiment to see whether the market wants your products.”

Peirce joined CNBC from the VettaFi’s Exchange 2026 conference in Las Vegas.

“I’m here because this is such an important segment of what we regulate,” she said.

When asked about tokenization of financial instruments, Peirce said interest has picked up.

“It’s not the SEC’s job to decide… how the market moves forward,” she said. “But tokenization is one of those areas that since the administration changed and since the attitude toward crypto and blockchain changed, people have come to us and they’ve said, ‘We really think tokenization has potential here.’”

Peirce also alluded to the regulation priorities as retail investor accessibility to new ETFs improves.

“We want to do it [work with issuers] in a way that respects investor protection,” Peirce said. “It’s not our job to say which products are good or bad. It is our job to work with sponsors to make sure that they’re disclosing what those products are, what the risks are [and] what they’re intended to be used for.”