SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce Stunned by Ongoing Debate Over Self-Custody

Hester Peirce, a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the leader of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, has come out strongly in support of the right to take charge of your own crypto and keep your financial transactions private.

“I’m a freedom maximalist,” Peirce shared on The Rollup podcast last Friday, emphasizing that keeping your own assets is a basic human right. She went on to say:

“Why should I have to go through someone else to hold what’s mine? It amazes me that in a country built on freedom, this is even up for debate — absolutely, people should be able to manage their own assets.”

Peirce also mentioned that online financial privacy should be the norm. “It seems like the belief now is that if you want to keep your transactions private, something must be up, but it should be the other way around,” she stated.

Her remarks come as the Digital Asset Market Structure Clarity Act—a bill focused on the crypto market structure that includes self-custody provisions, anti-money laundering (AML) rules, and asset classification—has been postponed until 2026, as mentioned by Senator Tim Scott.

Related: SEC to host a privacy and financial surveillance roundtable this December

Are ETFs Dimming Bitcoin’s Self-Custody Flame?

A number of big Bitcoin (BTC) holders are making the switch from self-custody to ETFs, looking to snag those tax breaks and enjoy an easier way to manage their crypto investments.

“We’re seeing the first drop in self-custodied Bitcoin in 15 years,” said Dr. Martin Hiesboeck, head of research at crypto exchange Uphold, noted.