The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will expand its series of crypto roundtables and take its crypto policy outreach on the road beginning Aug. 4 in Berkeley, California.

According to an Aug. 1 statement, the tour is meant to give founders and developers, especially teams with 10 or fewer employees and less than two years old, face time with the Commission outside Washington, D.C. 

Crypto Task Force lead Hester Peirce stated the agency wants to hear from stakeholders who could not attend prior sessions, adding:

“The Crypto Task Force is acutely aware that any regulatory framework will have far-reaching effects, and we want to ensure that our outreach is as comprehensive as possible.”

Teams can request a slot by emailing [email protected] with the subject line “Crypto on the Road,” naming the city of interest and including one or two attendee names along with a brief description of the project and team. 

To promote transparency, the Task Force plans to publish a list of participating projects.

The new “Crypto on the Road” schedule runs through December. The Task Force plans to visit Berkeley on Aug. 4, Boston on Aug. 19, Dallas on Sept. 4, Chicago on Sept. 15, New York City on Sept. 25, Irvine on Oct. 3, Cleveland on Oct. 24, Scottsdale on Oct. 29, New York City again on Nov. 12, and Ann Arbor on Dec. 5. 

Dates are tentative and may shift as logistics are finalized.

Expanding efforts

The roadshow builds on the SEC’s spring engagement with industry players. The Commission held its first Crypto Task Force roundtable on March 21 in Washington.

Panelists ranging from advocates to skeptics concurred that there is a pressing need for regulatory clarity for digital assets, despite the diverging opinions on how to establish it.

Much of the debate centered on token classification and whether existing securities laws adequately address decentralized systems. 

Advocates pointed to decentralization as a key gauge for determining when a token should fall outside securities laws. At the same time, skeptics argued the Howey test remains workable, noting the SEC’s track record in recent motions. 

Following the first roundtable, the SEC decided to host four additional events, ranging from regulation clarity to decentralized finance’s role in US innovation.

By moving conversations into local hubs, the Commission is seeking a wider sample of real-world experience, from smart contract developers and tokenization teams to early-stage consumer apps, before it advances proposals that could define how crypto fits under federal securities law.

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