Allison Herren Lee, considered one of 5 members of the USA Securities and Trade Fee’s board, has formally left the regulatory physique after greater than three years as a commissioner.
In a Friday announcement, chair Gary Gensler and commissioners Hester Peirce, Mark Uyeda, and Caroline Crenshaw mentioned Lee had left the SEC, the place in 2005 she began as a workers legal professional on the company’s enforcement division at a regional workplace in Denver. She moved on to be appointed a commissioner in 2019 beneath the previous presidential administration, and later served as performing chair to the regulatory physique for 3 months, till Gensler’s affirmation in April 2021.
“Commissioner Lee has been a stalwart advocate for sturdy and secure markets, together with by emphasizing the necessity for market contributors to take care of the very best moral requirements,” mentioned the remaining commissioners in a joint assertion.
Lee first introduced her departure from the SEC in March, with President Joe Biden in April nominating her substitute, Jaime Lizárraga, a staffer for Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Senate confirmed Lizárraga’s nomination on June 16 for a time period on the SEC ending on June 5, 2027.
Congratulations, Mark Uyeda and Jaime Lizárraga, on being nominated to be Commissioners of the Securities and Trade Fee: https://t.co/IkB7XTUuEY
— Hester Peirce (@HesterPeirce) April 6, 2022
Throughout her time on the SEC, Lee mentioned the fee wanted to “evolve with altering applied sciences” in reference to crypto regulation, including that the federal government physique ought to keep its rules. Lizárraga has largely made few if any public statements on crypto and blockchain. The Pelosi staffer was in authorities as lawmakers ready laws to deal with the monetary disaster of 2008, and was a part of efforts behind the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.
Associated: SEC doubles down on crypto regulation by increasing unit
The SEC, together with the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee and Monetary Crimes Enforcement Community, handles digital asset regulation in the USA, however with completely different jurisdictional claims, leading to a patchwork strategy that crypto companies should navigate to function. It’s unclear what influence the departure of Lee and the addition of Lizárraga will probably have on the regulation and enforcement of the crypto area.
