$TRUMP, Meme Coins & SEC: No Protection – Hester Peirce
SEC Commissioner: No Protection Expected for Meme Coins Like $TRUMP
Updated May 31, 2025
Investors shouldn’t anticipate Securities and Exchange Commission protection for meme coins such as $TRUMP, according to Commissioner Hester Peirce. Her remarks come as scrutiny increases around President Donald Trump’s growing involvement with crypto and its potential conflicts of interest.
The SEC previously stated it doesn’t consider most meme coins securities, removing them from its regulatory scope. This decision followed Trump’s launch of his own meme coin, which saw a rapid surge in value.
Peirce, speaking at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas, noted similarities to the NFT boom of 2021. While not securities, NFTs experienced value fluctuations based on market activity. she believes the SEC missed an opportunity to clarify its non-involvement then.
“People, if you are expecting that there’s SEC protection around these, you should not expect that,” Peirce said.”I should not be looking to the SEC for protection in this area.”
Since Trump took office, the SEC has shifted toward a more industry-kind approach to crypto, a move that has drawn criticism given the president and his family’s increasing crypto ventures. The $TRUMP token,largely controlled by the Trump Institution,has become central to this expansion.
Like many meme coins, $TRUMP lacks intrinsic value. after launching in January, it briefly reached a $15 billion market cap, fueled by Trump’s social media promotion. Although its value soon declined, the project generates fees from each trade.
While the White House maintains Trump’s assets are managed in a trust, Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, are raising concerns about potential influence from foreign or corporate entities thru the Trump family’s crypto holdings.
Meanwhile, crypto billionaires are regaining influence. The SEC recently dropped its lawsuit against Binance and its founder, Changpeng zhao, ending a major enforcement action. Zhao,who pleaded guilty to money-laundering violations,served a short prison sentence and retained most of his wealth.He also reportedly sought a presidential pardon and saw Binance receive a significant investment into a stablecoin linked to Trump-aligned entities.
Peirce denied political motivation behind the SEC’s actions. “We didn’t have a clear set of rules,” she said regarding the Binance case. “So we’re trying to take a step back, use our regulatory tools to write those rules, and then enforce those rules.”
This ideology also guided the SEC’s decision to rescind Staff Accounting bulletin 121, which had restricted traditional financial institutions from offering crypto custody services.
“It wasn’t even a rule,” Peirce said. “It didn’t go through the normal process. it was just a pronouncement.” She added that the policy effectively excluded experienced custodians from the crypto space.
What’s next
The SEC is expected to continue developing clearer regulations for the crypto space, balancing innovation with investor protection as digital assets gain mainstream attention and political entanglement.