Key Highlights:
- SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce firmly rejected the claims of “working alongside” OpenVPP.
- Crypto project OpenVPP is now facing scrutiny after overstating its meeting with Peirce.
- SEC’s Crypto Task Force is still continuing nationwide tours to engage with startups.
A recent scandal arose after the energy-oriented crypto project OpenVPP (OVPP) publicly declared that it had been working with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through Commissioner Hester Peirce. The assertion was soon rejected by Peirce herself, who assured that even though she did meet the project, it did not constitute any sort of collaboration or approval. Thereafter, netizens started blaming the project and even accused it of trying to scam the digital asset community.
Crypto Sleuth ZachXBT Unearths OpenVPP Incident
The matter first gained traction when blockchain investigator ZachXBT shared details on X. He noted that OpenVPP “claimed to be working with the US government on the tokenization of energy.”
The crypto sleuth added that when Commissioner Peirce later disputed the claim, the company attempted to conceal her response by hiding it from their post. ZachXBT further commented that the accounts promoting OpenVPP’s announcement were “the usual influencer suspects,” raising questions about the project’s promotional tactics.
The incident is associated with the current Crypto Task Force tour by the SEC, which was launched in early August to listen to the digital asset startups in the United States. The SEC claimed that the tour was meant to get to the communities that had never attended the previous Washington, D. C., roundtables.
This week the project @OpenVPP ($OVPP) claimed to be working with the US government on the tokenization of energy.
12 hrs ago Hester Pierce replied saying she does not work alongside or endorse private crypto projects.
OpenVPP then hid her reply from the post.
I reviewed the… pic.twitter.com/R2NLZultrZ
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) September 17, 2025
“The Crypto Task Force wants to hear from those who weren’t able to travel for the roundtables, and from voices that may have been historically underrepresented in other policymaking efforts,” the agency stated in its August announcement.
Commissioner Peirce, who is leading the initiative, has emphasized her interest in engaging with very young firms. The SEC noted she is “particularly interested in hearing from representatives of crypto-related projects that have 10 or fewer employees and are less than two years old.”
At one such stop in Chicago on September 15, OpenVPP seems to have encountered Peirce. A post on social media on the same date by the company featured a picture of Chief Executive Officer Parth Capadia and the SEC Commissioner. The caption read: “Excited to announce that we are working alongside [Commissioner Pierce] and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission on the Tokenization of Energy.”
SEC’s Hester Peirce Rejects Collaboration Claims
That post immediately prompted a correction from Peirce. Responding directly on X, she wrote: “I welcome the chance to meet with crypto projects to hear from them about their regulatory challenges, but I do not ‘work alongside’ or endorse private crypto projects or firms.”
Her clarification aligns with an explicit disclaimer on the SEC’s official website regarding the Task Force. It states that participation in these listening sessions is not a signal of support: “An invitation to participate in a Crypto on the Road roundtable does not serve as an endorsement of the project or any affiliate(s) of the project. The SEC does not endorse or sponsor any particular securities, issuers, products, services, professional credentials, firms, or individuals.”
Nevertheless, the wording of OpenVPP indicated that this was not the case, which resulted in criticism on various social media platforms. The role played by the company in making a seemingly straightforward meeting look like a collaborative initiative with the SEC sparked a wider debate on how crypto startups interact with regulators and the general public.
Meanwhile, the Task Force tour is still going on, and they plan to visit various cities such as Los Angeles and New York. The SEC is also still soliciting feedback at every stop, and repeats that the meetings are intended to be a dialogue and not regulatory validation. Also, the agency is working toward better decision-making regarding Solana ETFs after delaying its review period for Franklin Templeton’s SOL ETF.
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