{"id":40651,"date":"2025-08-06T04:46:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T04:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=40651"},"modified":"2025-08-06T04:46:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T04:46:32","slug":"sec-commissioner-peirce-urges-lawmakers-to-protect-crypto-privacy-rights-open-source-developers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=40651","title":{"rendered":"SEC Commissioner Peirce Urges Lawmakers To Protect Crypto Privacy Rights, Open-Source Developers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce has called for the protection of crypto privacy rights and open-source development ahead of the crucial verdict of the Tornado Cash co-founder\u2019s trial.<\/p>\n

In Defense Of Crypto Privacy, Developers<\/h2>\n

On Monday, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce defended<\/a> the crypto privacy sector, affirming that US authorities should welcome privacy-protecting technologies and safeguard individuals\u2019 right to self-custody their digital assets.<\/p>\n

At the Science of Blockchain Conference, the crypto-friendly commissioner stated that lawmakers and regulators must take concrete steps to protect individuals\u2019 ability to transact privately and develop privacy software without fear of prosecution.<\/p>\n

Peirce highlighted that a recent President\u2019s Working Group recommended that American citizens and businesses should be able to own digital assets and use blockchain technologies for lawful purposes.<\/p>\n

It also suggested that entrepreneurs and software developers should have the liberty and regulatory certainty to \u201cupgrade all sectors of our economy using these technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Although a centralized intermediary or even a DAO deploying a DeFi application could build in restrictions on its use, an immutable, open-source protocol is available for anyone\u2019s use in perpetuity, so requiring that it comply with financial surveillance measures is fruitless.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She noted that open-source privacy software developers shouldn\u2019t be responsible for the actions of third parties using their software, citing SEC Chair Paul Atkins\u2019 recent call for a regulatory path for developers to \u201cunleash on-chain software systems that do not require operation by any central intermediary.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Monday speech, Peirce also argued that regulators shouldn\u2019t ask businesses to collect and report information on each other, as \u201cdoing so would deputize us to surveil our neighbors\u2014a practice antithetical to a free society. Nor should we require an intermediary to step in the middle of peer-to-peer transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notably, the US Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) formally scrapped<\/a> a controversial crypto rule in July that would have mandated decentralized exchanges to comply with broker reporting obligations.<\/p>\n

The rule, originally proposed in November 2021 through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, aimed to close the \u201ctax gap\u201d by broadening the definition of \u201cbrokers\u201d to include crypto exchanges and other intermediaries, while requiring DeFi platforms to report proceeds from digital asset transactions and detail user transaction information, including names and addresses.<\/p>\n

Tornado Cash Verdict To Set Key Precedent<\/h2>\n

Commissioner Peirce\u2019s remarks come ahead of the verdict of the Tornado Cash co-founder\u2019s trial, which could set a negative precedent for open-source developers.<\/p>\n

Many industry leaders have argued<\/a> that trying to hold software developers criminally liable for how third parties use their code\u00a0will set a terrible precedent and freeze technological innovation in the US.<\/p>\n

For context, the US Department of the Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)\u00a0sanctioned crypto mixer Tornado Cash in August 2022 for \u201cfailing to impose effective controls\u201d to prevent malicious actors from laundering funds through the protocol, including $455 million by North Korea\u2019s Lazarus Group.<\/p>\n

Following the sanctions, the protocol\u2019s co-founder, Roman Storm, was detained in Washington in 2023 and charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit sanctions violations, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.<\/p>\n

Storm pleaded not guilty to all charges and was freed on a $2 million bond to await<\/a> his three-week trial, which started on July 14. If convicted, he could face up to 45 years in prison.<\/p>\n

\"crypto,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce has called for the protection of crypto privacy rights and open-source development ahead of the crucial verdict of the Tornado Cash co-founder\u2019s trial. In Defense Of Crypto Privacy, Developers On Monday, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce defended the crypto privacy sector, affirming that US authorities should welcome […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-40651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40651\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}