The US Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly starting to scale back its 50-staff crypto enforcement unit.

Some of the lawyers in the crypto unit will be assigned to other departments in the agency, The New York Times reported on Feb. 4, citing five people with knowledge of the matter,

One of the crypto unit’s top lawyers was also moved from the SEC’s enforcement arm, which some complained was an unfair demotion, according to the sources.

The report comes just hours after SEC Commission Hester Peirce outlined the regulator’s new approach to regulating the crypto markets , including evaluating the security status of crypto assets and potentially providing “retroactive relief” for certain token offerings.

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Peirce likened the SEC’s old approach as “careening” down the road while incessantly slamming on the enforcement breaks.

“The crypto road trip on which the newly announced Crypto Task Force has embarked likewise should be more enjoyable and less risky than the crypto road trip the Commission has taken the industry on for the last decade,” she said.

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