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‘I’m a Freedom Maximalist’ – How ‘Crypto Mom’ is Changing Crypto for Good
For years, regulatory uncertainty has deterred institutional investors, limited innovation, and created confusion in the crypto market. Now, with clear guidelines likely, the path toward mainstream adoption and institutional investment is opening...
Adam Atlantic
March 27, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
On 21 March, last week, the SEC held its first-ever Crypto Task Force roundtable, a key part of its ‘Spring Sprint Towards Crypto Clarity’ series. Led by Commissioner Hester Peirce (crypto’s biggest advocate within the agency), this roundtable was far more than the usual political grandstanding.[1]
It was also a massive departure from the stance the previous SEC establishment had taken.
It was the first of four upcoming roundtables, designed to action deliberate steps forward, crafting clear, workable regulations for what the Trump Administration likes to refer to as digital assets (for all intents and purposes they mean crypto).
The upcoming roundtables will be:[2]
April 11, 2025 - Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading
April 25, 2025 - Know Your Custodian: Key Considerations for Crypto Custody
May 12, 2025 – Tokenization - Moving Assets Onchain: Where TradFi and DeFi Meet
June 6, 2025 - DeFi and the American Spirit
For years, regulatory uncertainty has deterred institutional investors, limited innovation, and created confusion in the crypto market. Now, with clear guidelines likely, the path toward mainstream adoption and institutional investment is opening.
XRP Splits the Cash
The evidence of coming just in the last week and concluding yesterday.
After a long legal battle, the SEC’s high-profile lawsuit against Ripple Labs reached a conclusion.
Initially a penalty of $125 million, relating to institutional sales of XRP classified as securities had been sitting in an escrow account. There were appeals and cross-appeals (all of which we don’t need to go into). Importantly though, the court delivered a crucial ruling, clarifying that XRP's sales to retail investors were not securities.
Then just yesterday, the SEC has dropped its appeal without conditions, and Ripple has agreed to drop its cross-appeal.
This outcome is somewhat of a win for Ripple. $50 million of the $125 the SEC gets to keep (I wonder if that’s budget neutral enough to buy Bitcoin?) and the remaining $75 million goes back to Ripple.[3]
Crypto Mom in the Driver’s Seat
With XRP’s long standing battle now over, the SEC seemingly taking a ‘let’s talk first and ask questions’ approach, what comes next?
Well, Commissioner Peirce has emerged as the hero we needed to have on the inside at the SEC, helping to build a framework that protects investors while encouraging innovation.
Her upcoming speech at a major Bitcoin conference underscores this commitment and no doubt she’ll be doubling down on her key message, as she puts it,[4] ‘I’m a freedom maximalist.’
Peirce's voice is crucial because it highlights a growing shift within regulatory circles toward acceptance and support for crypto assets. Also, with growing talk around the industry that the Administration is actively looking to buy more Bitcoin for the Strategic Reserve, we’re just racking up bullish sign after bullish sign.
But Bitcoin’s price refuses to break into the $90,000 range and feels like a world away from $100,000.
The crypto market will do this to you if you’re around long enough. It will pull you into these traps where it feels like nothing will ever get the market going again, all the while it’s coiling like a spring…
…than BAM! It explodes higher and it happens so fast if you’re not paying attention, or if you’re not appropriately invested, it can pass you by.
That’s why now is the time to be invested, to add to your bags to take your position, ready for that explosion.
Trust in crypto,
Adam Atlantic