Coinbase ups the ante with SEC, asking court to demand crypto clarity from regulator

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Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, sued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, demanding that the regulator be required by a court to respond publicly to its July 2022 petition seeking clearer guidelines. when it comes to crypto regulation.

See Related Story: SEC’s Gary Gensler Dodges Whether Ethereum Is a Security

Fast facts

Coinbase filed the suit under the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires the SEC to respond to the Coinbases July 2022 petition within a reasonable time.

The July 2022 Coinbases petition called on the SEC to propose and adopt clearer regulatory guidelines for the cryptocurrency industry in the United States through its formal rulemaking process. More than 1,700 entities and individuals submitted comments on Coinbases’ petition, echoing the demand for regulatory clarity, according to Coinbase.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal wrote in a blog post that Coinbase is not asking the court to tell the SEC how to respond. We are simply asking that the Court order the SEC to respond, which it is legally obligated to do, he said.

The SEC did not offer a specific public response to Coinbases’ petition last year, according to Coinbase. However, in recent months, the SEC has intensified its enforcement actions and warnings against cryptocurrency exchanges, including Bittrex, Gemini, and Coinbase itself.

Coinbase asked the SEC in the filing to formally clarify which digital assets must be registered as securities or how registration and other requirements designed decades ago for traditional securities apply to digital assets.

Coinbases’ lawsuit against the SEC comes just over a month after the exchange received a Wells notice from the SEC, warning that it planned to sue the exchange over alleged violations of US securities law. .

During a congressional hearing last month, SEC Chairman Gensler said regulations already exist for crypto to be effectively managed under securities laws.

See Related Story: SEC Warns Coinbase of Potential Staking Lawsuit, Separately Targets Tron Founder Sun

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