Statement on Departure of Commissioner Hester Peirce

Joint Statement from Paul S. Atkins, Chairman and Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda

Oct. 1, 2026—Commissioner Peirce has served two remarkable tours at the SEC, first as a distinguished member of the staff from 2000 to 2008, and most recently as Commissioner since 2018. We are deeply grateful for her principled leadership and significant contributions to the Commission over the years. As colleagues and friends of hers for two decades, we have seen firsthand the influence of her expertise, tenacity, and quiet strength—an influence that reaches beyond the Commission to our capital markets.
Commissioner Peirce has shown what it means to hold fast to your convictions and defend your viewpoint with integrity and grace, always asking thoughtful questions with respect for those answering. She has demonstrated how much one determined voice can accomplish, overcoming at times animosity and indifference. Her ardor is nowhere more evident than in her advocacy for digital asset innovation.
Long before regulatory clarity became a priority of this Commission, Commissioner Peirce was contending for it. Often an army of one, she never hesitated to challenge regulation by enforcement or to press the Commission to give entrepreneurs a clear path to innovate on American shores, earning her leadership of the Crypto Task Force.
Her courage and conviction set the course that we are on today toward a rational, workable framework for digital assets—and the work that we carry forward will bear the mark of her leadership for years to come.
We join our colleagues across the SEC in sincerely thanking Commissioner Peirce for her honorable service. We wish her every success in the chapter ahead, where those who learn under her will be just as inspired by her character and competency as those of us who have served alongside her. Commissioner Peirce’s dedication, intellect, and humor will be sorely missed, but her example will ever endure in the Commission’s culture and standard of excellence.