SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce Calls for US-UK Cooperation to Build a Joint Legal Sandbox for Digital Assets to Promote Cross-Border Blockchain Innovation.
The legal framework for crypto assets may undergo a crucial turning point when US Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce proposes the first cross-border collaboration model between the US and the United Kingdom. In a speech at London's Guildhall on July 16, Ms. Peirce affirmed that this coordination could bring legal clarity to blockchain projects stuck in a regulatory gray area.
This proposal stems from the fact that many innovative initiatives in the digital asset field have stalled or failed due to hostile legal attitudes and a lack of clear commercialization pathways. Market participants are seeking to experiment with Bitcoin, stablecoins, Non-Fungible Tokens, digital identity solutions, collateral asset management, and Tokenizing traditional assets like real estate, but face significant legal barriers.
Ms. Peirce proposes building a highly flexible micro sandbox in the US that can be coordinated with the existing sandbox model of the United Kingdom, allowing businesses to deploy trials according to consistent standards between the two countries. This approach not only supports practical testing but also ensures that regulatory authorities maintain effective oversight.
Market-Driven Orientation Instead of Government Imposition
A key highlight in Commissioner Peirce's proposal is that sandbox initiatives must originate from the actual market needs, not from plans drawn up by government working groups. This approach aims to ensure that experimental projects are developed naturally by businesses, accurately reflecting the industry's real needs.
She also warned that any legal framework must ensure it does not exclude startups or large enterprises, and does not impose artificial limits on user scale or product development. This reflects a vision of an open and fair innovative ecosystem for all market participants.
While still emphasizing investor protection, Ms. Peirce opposes attaching politically motivated conditions to the management mechanism. In her view, imposing unrelated conditions could even distort the safe and efficient operation of the project, equivalent to misusing financial regulations to achieve political goals.
Commissioner Peirce concluded that building early interoperability will help avoid costly future adjustments, and expressed hope that the SEC's Crypto Assets Task Force can collaborate with UK regulators to promote testing and review existing rules that need modification.
