Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase filed a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, urging the regulator to publicly disclose its response to a petition concerning the regulation of the crypto industry within existing SEC frameworks.
CNBC reports that in an effort to force the SEC to publicly release its response to a petition regarding the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry within SEC frameworks, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase filed a lawsuit against the agency on Monday.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), speaks during a House Appropriation Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., US, on Wednesday, May 18, 2022. The hearing is titled “Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request for the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.” Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
In a petition filed in July 2022, the SEC was urged to “propose and adopt rules to govern the regulation of securities that are offered and traded via digitally native methods,” which refers to digital assets like cryptocurrencies. The SEC has aggressively increased enforcement actions and warnings against crypto exchanges, including Coinbase itself, despite the fact that it has not publicly responded to the Coinbase petition.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal wrote in a blog post, “From the SEC’s public statements and enforcement activity in the crypto industry, it seems like the SEC has already made up its mind to deny our petition. But they haven’t told the public yet. So the action Coinbase filed today simply asks the court to ask the SEC to share its decision.”
The SEC has taken action against Bittrex and Gemini, two crypto exchanges, as well as Genesis, a cryptocurrency lender, and a number of people accused of manipulating digital assets, including Justin Sun, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, and Do Kwon, the disgraced founder of Terraform Labs.
A little more than a month after receiving a Wells notice alerting it to impending legal action from the SEC, Coinbase has taken its first official legal action against the regulator.
Grewal emphasized the importance of regulatory clarity, stating, “Coinbase does not take any litigation lightly, especially when it relates to one of our regulators. Regulatory clarity is overdue for our industry. Yet Coinbase and other crypto companies are facing potential regulatory enforcement actions from the SEC, even though we have not been told how the SEC believes the law applies to our business.”
The SEC has not yet returned a request for comment by CNBC on the issue.
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan