Top Brass from Uniswap, Coinbase, and NYSE to Join SEC Roundtable—A Pivotal Moment for Crypto Trading Regulations

On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to conduct a major roundtable at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The roundtable, “Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading,” is part of the SEC’s new approach to regulating crypto. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, chair of the newly formed Crypto Task Force, will lead the conversation.

Key Players from Crypto and Finance Join the Discussion

A diverse lineup of industry leaders and financial experts will participate in the four-hour session, running from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Among the most prominent names attending are:

• Katherine Minarik, Chief Legal Officer, Uniswap Labs
• Gregory Tusar, VP of Institutional Product, Coinbase
• Chelsea Pizzola, Associate General Counsel, Cumberland DRW

Notably, all three companies have previously faced legal scrutiny from the SEC, though investigations were eventually dropped during the Trump administration.

Additional voices from the crypto industry include Austin Reid, global business head at FalconX, and Richard Johnson, CEO of tokenization platform Texture Capital.

Jon Herrick, Chief Product Officer at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and Christine Parlour, professor at UC Berkeley, are both part of the traditional finance world. Finally, we will also have Dave Lauer of We the Investors and Tyler Gellasch, from the Healthy Markets Association, both known supporters of more transparent market regulation and better market practices.

Part of the SEC’s ‘Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity’

The event is the second in a five-part series organized by the SEC called “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity.” The first roundtable took place on March 21, 2023, around the legal treatment of crypto assets, and launched the new crypto task force’s engagement with the public. The roundtable in April will involve an open discussion about the current state of cold trading and then a session discussing next steps in potentially shaping SEC policy on the regulation of crypto. Stakeholders can share their thoughts on regulatory uncertainty, stimulating innovation, and protecting investors.

Trump-Era Deregulation Efforts Still Resonate

Amid the roundtable planning, the SEC is also revisiting several staff statements issued in previous years, five of which directly relate to the crypto sector. This review aligns with President Trump’s executive order on deregulation, supported by the Department of Government Efficiency, now headed by Elon Musk.

In an April 5 post on X (formerly Twitter), Acting Chair Mark Uyeda confirmed that the review is ongoing. Documents under reconsideration include:

• A 2019 framework assessing whether crypto sales qualify as securities under the Howey Test
• SEC guidance on the risks of Bitcoin futures funds
• A statement questioning whether state-chartered banks can act as qualified crypto custodians

Galaxy Digital Gets Green Light for U.S. Move

In another regulatory update, the SEC approved a Form S-4 filing from Galaxy Digital, indicating its plans to redomicile from the Cayman Islands to Delaware. This will create a new U.S. holding company, Galaxy Digital Inc., which will enhance its institutional presence in the U.S. market.