- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially rejected the crypto regulation request made by Coinbase Global Inc.
- After receiving no response from the exchange, it took the market regulator to court. This was the crypto trading platform’s last resort, and ultimately, the Third Circuit Court ruled in favor of the exchange.
- Grewal mentioned that Gary Gensler acknowledged in a 2021 session that there was no legal regulation for cryptocurrencies.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the petition from Coinbase exchange for data officially!
Coinbase Takes SEC Battle to Court
After 18 months, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officially rejected the crypto regulation request made by Coinbase Global Inc. Instead of dropping the investigation, Paul Grewal, the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of the trading platform, confirmed plans to appeal the response.
Paul Grewal expressed disappointment over the SEC’s response to the regulatory request after months of silence from the regulator. With no response from the exchange, it took the market regulator to court. This was the crypto trading platform’s last resort, and ultimately, the Third Circuit Court ruled in favor of the exchange. The decision forced the SEC to make regulatory transparency demands on the firm by providing its report.
The SEC rejected the request citing three main reasons: “the current securities laws apply to cryptocurrencies,” “the SEC responds to the crypto securities markets with regulation,” and “the Board’s ability to determine its regulatory priorities is crucial.”
Paul Grewal does not agree with this position because anyone who claims that existing laws are clear or that there is nothing more to be done cannot have a fair perspective on the crypto industry. Grewal mentioned that Gary Gensler acknowledged in a 2021 session that there was no legal regulation for cryptocurrencies.
Quoting a previous statement by Rostin Behnam, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Grewal said that most tokens under current laws are commodities. Coinbase’s CLO did not specify when the company would file its appeal.
More Confusion in the Crypto World
The different positions of the SEC and CFTC on the best classification of assets in the crypto world create significant confusion for industry members. Understanding which assets fall under securities and which under commodities still requires some guidance that the SEC or CFTC are currently unwilling to provide.
In particular, industry experts like John Deaton, an attorney for XRP holders, believe that the SEC Chairman blatantly misled the American public because the crypto ecosystem contains enough uniqueness that could be classified in different ways.
