SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce on Perpetual Contracts and Prediction Market Regulation: Emphasizing Self-Custody and Financial Privacy Principles

Hester Peirce, Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), shared her views on perpetual contracts, prediction markets, and the future of digital asset regulation—overall adopting a positive and open tone. Peirce revisited the Rule 611 “trade-through” proposal, which has been under discussion for roughly two decades, noting that the so-called “innovation exemption” mechanism would be deliberately designed to be strict and narrowly tailored, striking a balance between market innovation and investor protection. She emphasized that clearer regulatory frameworks—not outright restrictions or ambiguous oversight—should govern emerging financial products such as tokenized securities, perpetual contracts, and prediction markets. She also underscored two core principles: self-custody and financial privacy must serve as foundational rights within future regulatory systems and must be integrated into the design of subsequent digital asset regulatory regimes.