Alexander Grieve, vice president of government affairs at the crypto investment firm Paradigm, said that the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) launch of a crypto task force indicates a shift in the agency's approach to digital assets. Grieve shared his statement in a January 21 post.

"A sea change compared to the last 4 years," Grieve said. "We look forward to working with the Commission in helping crypto founders obtain the clarity they've long sought," said Grieve.

On January 21, Acting SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda announced the creation of the new task force, which will be led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, according to a press release. The task force will collaborate with the public and other SEC staff "to set the SEC on a sensible regulatory path." According to the press release, the SEC's previous approach to the crypto industry has been heavily reliant on enforcement, resulting in an absence of legal clarity and confusion for market participants, creating "an environment hostile to innovation." The task force aims to support the SEC in establishing clear regulatory guidelines.

According to Roslyn Layton, a senior fellow at the National Security Institute, under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler's leadership, the SEC engaged in several "non-fraud enforcement actions" against crypto companies but failed to issue "a single regulatory guideline registering a digital asset or determining whether it will be a security." Layton said that "there are no forms, no instructions and no published rules for registration." She further mentioned that while many companies cannot afford to fight these lawsuits due to large penalties sought by the SEC, those who have fought back "have exposed how truly bad the SEC’s faith has become."

Grieve joined Paradigm in 2023. He previously served as Associate Director of Global Public Policy and U.S. Government Relations at The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation and as Vice President of Tiger Hill Partners.