Recently, SEC Mom — SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce — spoke again about a rather interesting issue. She warned regulators not to interfere too much in the market, especially when disclosure regulations are overly complex.

In fact, public companies nowadays have to spend too much time preparing mandatory disclosure documents. This leads to a paradox — instead of clarifying information for investors, it obscures everything. Hester Peirce believes the SEC should consider simplifying these rules.

But the most notable point is that she also highlighted the growing debate over tokenization and tokenized securities. She called on regulators to exercise restraint, citing Adam Smith to argue that markets self-regulate better when not overly intervened.

An interesting point is that SEC staff are still working on the possibility of granting "innovation exemptions" for limited tokenization pilot programs. Ms. Peirce also questioned whether additional disclosure and intermediary requirements for tokenized securities are truly necessary. After all, blockchain can enable faster payments and, in some cases, transactions without traditional intermediaries.

This reflects a broader trend at the SEC. Paul Atkins, SEC Chairman, has viewed tokenization as a major financial innovation that regulators should encourage rather than restrict. In December, the agency issued a no-action letter to DTCC, allowing them to experiment with blockchain-based tokenization services for securities. This move essentially permits DTCC to develop infrastructure supporting traditional securities settlement on blockchain without fear of prosecution.

All these discussions are happening alongside wider policy debates in Washington about the crypto market structure bill. What gets passed or not could shape the future regulation of digital assets in the U.S. This is a critical period for the industry.