Odaily reported that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce has expressed views on perpetual contracts, prediction markets and the future direction of digital asset regulation. Her overall tone was described as positive and open, with the focus placed on how regulators should address new financial products through clearer rulemaking rather than through simple restrictions or unclear regulatory treatment.
Rule 611 and a Strict, Limited Innovation Exemption
In discussing the regulatory path, Peirce reviewed the Rule 611 trade-through proposal, which has been in development for about 20 years. She said the so-called “innovation exemption” mechanism would be intentionally designed to be strict and limited. That description indicates that the mechanism is not intended as a broad permission structure for all forms of innovation, but as a bounded approach that leaves room for market experimentation while preserving investor protection requirements.
Peirce’s comments frame market innovation and investor protection as goals that can be balanced through regulatory design. Under this approach, the key issue is to define scope, conditions and boundaries clearly, so that new trading mechanisms or financial products can be tested within a rule-based environment rather than operating under unclear or incomplete regulatory language.
Clearer Rules for Tokenized Securities, Perpetuals and Prediction Markets
On tokenized securities, perpetual contracts and prediction markets, Peirce said these new financial products should be addressed through a clearer rules framework, rather than by simple restriction or vague regulation. Her remarks place emphasis on regulatory clarity: the rules should explain how such products are governed, instead of leaving them subject to uncertain treatment.
Peirce also emphasized two core principles: self-custody and financial privacy. She said these principles should become foundational rights in the future regulatory system and should be incorporated into the design of later digital asset regulation. In the context of digital assets, self-custody concerns how users maintain control over their assets, while financial privacy concerns the rights boundaries around transactions and asset activity. Her comments place both principles within the broader discussion of regulatory system design.