$131 billion crypto vault boom will test the limits of SEC’s friendlier crypto stance

- $131 billion in crypto vaults is the new gold rush, and Hester Peirce is the buzzkill holding the map. She’s warning that if humans actually *manage* your yield instead of letting code do the heavy lifting, the SEC might classify it as a security. Basically, if a curator moves your assets, you’re not a user; you’re a meat wallet funding an unregistered investment contract. Coinbase and Kraken are already in the ring, offering "ETF 2.0" with varying degrees of risk and regulatory exposure. Peirce isn’t banning it, just drawing a line between automated scripts and human discretion. So, enjoy your passive income while it lasts, because once the regulators realize they can tax the "managerial effort," that aggressive passive income is going to look a lot like taxable profit. Where's my cut?