March 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange

Commission's crypto task force held its first public meeting

with experts on Friday, focusing on how securities laws might

apply to digital assets as the Trump administration looks to

overhaul cryptocurrency regulations.

Among the participants of the roundtable were John Reed

Stark, former chief of the SEC's Office of Internet Enforcement;

Miles Jennings, the general counsel for a16z crypto; and former

SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes. Republican SEC Commissioner

Hester Peirce is leading the task force, which is charged with

developing rules and guidance for crypto.

"Spring signifies new beginnings and we have a new beginning

here, a restart of the commission's approach to crypto

regulation," said Peirce.

The crypto industry has long clashed with regulators over

how federal securities laws translate to digital assets, with

many arguing that crypto tokens are more akin to commodities.

Tokens classified as securities would require firms to register

with the SEC and provide certain disclosures to investors.

President Donald Trump, who campaigned on promises to be a

"crypto president," has pledged to reverse an industry crackdown

under former President Joe Biden's SEC, which sued multiple

crypto companies, including Coinbase and Kraken, alleging they

had flouted its rules. The SEC's new leadership has agreed to

withdraw or pause many of those cases.

The task force on Friday debated whether crypto tokens

require a new, separate regulatory framework, different from how

the SEC oversees securities such as equities.

Jennings urged the SEC to take a "technology-neutral"

approach, "looking at what differentiates a system like ethereum

from ownership of equity in Apple ( AAPL )."

Some, including Democratic SEC Commissioner Caroline

Crenshaw, expressed concern that the regulator would loosen

rules for cryptocurrencies by allowing them to operate under a

distinct regime.

"Modifying the law to facilitate the success of a chosen

product category is fraught with risk," said Crenshaw. "Risk not

only of weakening regulatory protections for that category, but

of creating the negative domino effect on other areas of the

market protected by the same laws."

The task force's first roundtable comes as Trump has sought

to broadly overhaul policies toward cryptocurrency. Earlier this

month, Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic

reserve of cryptocurrencies and held a summit for industry

leaders at the White House.