The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped into a new phase of digital-asset regulation with a proposal intended to replace much of the agency’s prior “enforcement-first” approach with a clearer framework for certain crypto-based fundraising activities, SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce said this week.

In a statement released Tuesday, Peirce argued that the SEC’s shift matters because earlier rules and interpretations were “inapt” for crypto and left much of the market operating under uncertainty. The proposal, she said, is a step toward “putting clear, sensible, enforceable rules in place for crypto offerings.”

Key takeaways

• SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said the agency’s new proposal is a meaningful move…