CoinEdition has released the Top 10 Influential Women in the Cryptocurrency Industry for 2026. I want to talk about the woman in fourth place, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce @HesterPeirce, a hardcore libertarian who criticizes her boss and refuses to be a mother figure.

"Publicly criticizing the SEC as a 'paternalistic lazy regulator'"
Back in February 2023, former SEC Chair Gensler took a tough stance against Kraken, forcing it to halt its staking services and imposing a $30 million fine.
In an environment that values harmony within the system, Peirce directly issued an official dissent titled "Kraken Down," pointing at her own agency and criticizing:
"Without a compliant pathway, they just come in and flip the table—this is exactly what a 'paternalistic and lazy regulator' would do!"
"Don’t call me mom, I’m not your mom"
Because she often votes against the crypto industry alone, the crypto community has given her a loving nickname: "Crypto Mom." But as a staunch supporter of free markets, she finds this nickname almost physically uncomfortable.
In an interview with DL News, she straightforwardly said, "That nickname is funny, but I mind it a lot. I’m not your mom (I'm not your mom)."
Over several years, she has sharply opposed almost every unreasonable enforcement action by Gensler (including LBRY, Stoner Cats, and others), openly criticizing the SEC for "embracing stagnation and forcing companies overseas."
Gensler stepped down in silence.
And in early 2025, the SEC’s new leadership directly appointed Peirce to head a brand-new "U.S. Crypto Assets Special Task Force," giving her full authority to clean up the regulatory mess left by her former boss and to formulate new rules.
Being able to maintain absolute clarity and common sense within an extremely bureaucratic regulatory agency, even to the point of launching crazy attacks as an "insider," and ultimately turning the tide… Hester Peirce is definitely one of the few clear-headed people in the world of fame and fortune.