SEC’s Hester Peirce wants crypto sandbox: Wormhole legal chief has concerns

Cathy Yoon commended Commissioner Peirce’s remarks on crypto regulation but expressed concerns over her idea of a regulatory sandbox.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has radically shifted its policy on crypto, bringing voices such as that of Commissioner Hester M. Peirce to the forefront. However, some still believe that her pro-crypto approach has important limitations.

Cathy Yoon, General Counsel at Wormhole Foundation, recently commented on the remarks made by Commissioner Peirce. While she agreed to some extent that regulatory exemptions for crypto are needed, she criticized Peirce’s idea of a regulatory sandbox.

Notably, the debate centers around tokenized securities, which fall under the SEC’s jurisdiction. Any type of security must meet stringent regulatory requirements before the SEC deems it compliant. However, there are significant challenges ahead.

Sandboxes are great in theory, but there are risks: Yoon

Peirce points to ongoing technical issues as a key obstacle. In particular, the technical infrastructure remains underdeveloped. Yoon acknowledged this as a compelling argument in favor of regulatory exemptions for tokenized securities projects.

“The infrastructure needed to support tokenized securities is still rather undeveloped and expensive to implement,” Yoon, Wormhole.

Still, Yoon noted that she disagrees with Peirce’s concept of a regulatory sandbox. The concept, which Peirce has long advocated, refers to allowing startups to test certain products that exist in a regulatory gray area.

These firms are closely monitored by regulators but face fewer penalties and a reduced compliance burden. Yoon argues that sandboxes sound promising in theory but introduce risks such as arbitrary enforcement and favoritism.

“A sandbox is only as good as the leeway and support a regulator offers to the sandbox participants. There is also a concern that regulators may favor sandbox participants, leading to biased oversight or even weakened enforcement in the long term,” Yoon, Wormhole.

Instead of a regulatory sandbox, Yoon proposed a limited-duration regulatory exemption. This would allow companies to test their products in a real environment, helping them adapt to actual conditions and scale more effectively.