SEC commissioner Hester Peirce to join Regent law school, adding to regulator vacancy risk

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SEC commissioner Peirce moves to academia

Highlights

Hester Peirce will join Regent University School of Law as an associate professor in November, leaving the SEC with increased commissioner vacancy risk.
Peirce's expected SEC departure follows Democratic commissioner Caroline Crenshaw’s exit, leaving only two Republicans and exacerbating bipartisan staffing shortages amid regulatory shifts.
The SEC and CFTC face major staffing gaps while Congress debates the CLARITY Act, which could transfer significant crypto oversight authority from the SEC to the CFTC.

Regent appointment and SEC timeline

As reported by Cointelegraph, Peirce will join the School of Law as an associate professor starting in November. The university says she is expected to strengthen its academic focus in areas including federal litigation, securities regulation and digital assets.

Peirce, widely known in crypto circles as “Crypto Mom,” is serving a second term as an SEC commissioner and leads the agency’s crypto task force. Her term officially expired in June 2025, but SEC commissioners may continue serving for roughly 18 months after their terms end if no replacement is confirmed.

She joined the SEC in January 2018 after being nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate in December 2017. Peirce was confirmed for a second term in 2020 after an earlier 2015 nomination by President Barack Obama for a Republican seat did not advance in the Senate.

Crypto oversight and staffing pressure

Her expected departure would leave the SEC with only two Republican commissioners, Mark Uyeda and Chair Paul Atkins. The vacancy pressure comes after Democratic commissioner Caroline Crenshaw left in January, 18 months after her term ended, with no replacement nomination announced.

Since Trump returned to office in January 2025, the SEC has changed its approach to crypto regulation and enforcement, dropping several cases and investigations involving crypto companies, including some tied to Trump and his family. At the same time, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also operating with major vacancies, with Chair Michael Selig currently serving as the panel’s sole commissioner.

The SEC and CFTC say they are coordinating to avoid what they describe as regulatory turf wars as lawmakers debate the CLARITY Act in Congress. The bill is expected to shift significant authority over crypto markets from the SEC to the CFTC, increasing pressure on Trump to nominate a bipartisan slate of commissioners to fully staff both agencies.

Our earlier report on the $19 million settlement involving Farjess Inc. and Royal Canadian Steel Inc. outlined allegations that flat-rolled steel imports were mislabeled to evade U.S. customs duties, along with a whistleblower award tied to the case. We noted how the action highlighted a broader push by federal agencies to tighten compliance and anti-evasion enforcement to protect government revenue.

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