If the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Wells Notice against Coinbase makes anything clear, it’s that the agency is at war with the crypto industry. Coinbase is the poster child for the American crypto industry and has always been committed to complying with regulations and license registration – otherwise, the exchange would not have been able to get IPO approval.
However, the SEC decided to send a Wells Notice to Coinbase that focused on staking and asset listing. A Wells Notice usually precedes enforcement action, as CEO Brian Armston said.
In fact, as Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal write via Twitter, the exchange has met with the SEC more than 30 times in the last nine months to find a way to register – without hearing back. When Coinbase applied to go public in 2021, the SEC granted approval. “Now they’ve changed their minds about what they allow,” Grewal said.
The War On Crypto and How the Industry Will Win
In a blog post, Coinbase explained what was most surprising about Notice Well, “SEC staff told us that they had identified potential violations of securities laws, but much less. We asked the SEC specifically to identify the assets on our platform that we believe are securities, and they refused. perform.
The crypto community is angry about how the SEC is refusing to do its job by not making clear rules while regulating it with enforcement actions. Therefore, it seems clear: the war can only be won in court.
Fortunately, Coinbase is more than eager to fight. “So what’s going on? We avail ourselves of the court system to finally start to get some clarity for the crypto industry in the US Ironically, establishing some legal cases may be the best to get the regulatory clarity that the industry deserves,” Grewal explained.
Jake Chervinsky, chief policy officer at the Blockchain Association, expressed dismay through Wells News for Coinbase after the company spent an “extraordinary amount” of time and resources working in good faith to obtain regulatory clarity from the SEC. Still, Chervinsky hopes:
Thankfully, Coinbase is ready for battle and in a strong position to do so successfully as a legal matter. Remember, the SEC does not make the law. This only creates allegations, which will ultimately have to be tested in court. Often, as here, the SEC is wrong.
Other well-known crypto industry figures share the same view. Scott Melker, The Wolf Of All Streets, claimed via Twitter that Coinbase will bury the SEC in court because they have a war chest and evidence on their side. Melker wrote:
The judicial system has been dunking on the SEC in every available situation. Let’s go crazy. […] This will catalyze the industry in the US in a way that the SEC is wildly unprepared for. Gary toasted.
Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of crypto-friendly Bank Custodia, add to it:
It should be clear by now that the Biden Administration wants all crypto (even the legitimate part) – out of the US […] SEC remit is investor protection. How to protect investors from IPO companies if they violate securities laws?
XRP community lawyer Jeremy Hogan also noted that the SEC is not an independent agency that makes rules based on law, but is “the political enforcement arm of the government and its views,” adding “Only the Court can save us now.”
Author Andrew Samuel expressed her optimism too:
Reminder: a few weeks ago the SEC was selected by Grayscale’s lawyers and the appellate panel in the DC Circuit. You can bet that Coinbase is set to do the same in the coming months/years. The two companies, whatever you think, are now carrying the torch to end the death of crypto in the US.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $27,630, digesting yesterday’s news.
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