Hester Peirce has criticised new crypto interface guidance from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, warning it risks deepening uncertainty over whether wallets should be treated as broker-dealers.

The SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets released interim guidance outlining how broker-dealer rules may apply to “covered user interfaces” that help users prepare and transmit blockchain transactions.

Peirce welcomed the attempt at clarity but cautioned that temporary staff guidance does not resolve fundamental legal ambiguity, urging formal rulemaking to modernise definitions in line with blockchain-based systems.

Under the framework, certain wallet-connected interfaces can avoid broker classification if they allow full user…