Peirce Advocates for Financial Privacy as Default

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce is making a strong case for financial privacy to be the default, not an exception. In a recent speech at the SIFMA Digital Assets Conference on September 23, 2026, Peirce argued that privacy should be treated as a fundamental right, rather than something that looks suspicious.

Pierce took aim at Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules, which she described as excessive surveillance. She believes these frameworks do too little to protect the people whose information gets collected.

Peirce's proposed fix is to adopt privacy-preserving tools such as zero-knowledge proofs. These tools would allow personal information to be verified without revealing underlying data. For example, a zero-knowledge proof works like a bouncer who confirms your age without reading your birthday or home address.