Hester Pierce will leave the Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2026 to join Regent University School of Law as a professor.
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- Regent University School of Law announced May 19 that Hester Pierce will join as an associate professor beginning in November 2026.
- Pierce has led the SEC’s Cryptocurrency Task Force since January 2025 and has served as Commissioner since 2018, and was appointed by President Trump.
- She will teach securities regulation, financial markets, digital assets, and public policy at Regent Law in Virginia Beach.
Regent University School of Law Announce On May 19, Hester Pierce will join the faculty as an associate professor beginning in November 2026. The announcement notes that Pierce will end her time at the SEC after more than seven years as commissioner.
“Greg Jacob and Hester Pierce have served at the highest levels of law, government and public life,” said Dean S. Ernie Walton. “Their decision to join Regent Law full-time is a wonderful blessing to our students.”
What Pierce built at the SEC and what she left behind
Pierce is widely known in the cryptocurrency industry as “Crypto Mom” for her constant advocacy of digital asset innovation. Her opposition to heavy-handed SEC enforcement actions under former Chairman Gary Gensler earned her the nickname and industry loyalty.
Pierce became SEC Commissioner in January 2018 and was appointed Chairman of the Cryptocurrency Task Force in January 2025. Crypto.news I mentioned On the formation of a task force and 10-point roadmap to resolve the SEC’s regulatory backlog.
Her term technically expires in mid-2025, but SEC commissioners can serve up to eighteen months after expiration until a replacement is confirmed. Crypto.news has it too tracking Its consistent position is that the agency should allow experimentation rather than reflexively apply securities law.
“All I ask is that we have an innovation policy that allows people to innovate and try new things,” she said in a recent interview.
What does her departure mean for cryptocurrency regulation?
Pierce’s exit removes the most prominent pro-crypto voice within the SEC at a critical moment. The cryptocurrency task force she led has been pivotal in the agency’s shift away from enforcement-only oversight toward clearer rules.
Crypto.news has Covered Experts analyze that even with a friendlier SEC, the courts remain the unpredictable variable in how cryptocurrency regulation in the United States will ultimately be shaped. At Regent Law, Pierce will teach securities regulation, financial markets, digital assets, and public policy.
