US courts have recently been abuzz with participants from escalating crypto lawsuits. Coinbase, determined for victory, aims to secure legal regulations favorable to cryptocurrencies through the judicial pathway. These ongoing battles will undoubtedly shape the future legal standards for digital currencies.
Crypto Says No
A resounding ‘no’ to regulations, legal advisories, guidance, and anything to do with crypto is what the SEC has been doing for a while now. The SEC responded to Coinbase following a court’s demand for clarity, giving the Commission a seven-day period to reply. The regulatory body expressed the need for the “mandamus petition to be dismissed.” A mandamus forces a government body into action to fulfill its obligations.
SEC lawyers stated, “The Commission has not yet decided what, if any, action it will take on this petition in whole or in part – which considering the broadness of the rulemaking petition and its submission only months ago and recently finalized by Coinbase is entirely reasonable.” However, the agency predicts that “the Commission staff should be able to make a recommendation to the Commission regarding Coinbase’s rulemaking petition within the next 120 days.”
Coinbase Baffled
Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, shared in the early hours today that the recent response did not satisfy them. Clearly, the court-compelled answer from SEC was not of the desired nature. Coinbase is demanding regulatory clarity, such as how certain altcoins are declared as securities and how exchanges should operate.
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Grewal stated, “Despite the court’s clear order, they refuse to commit to any deadlines. Instead, they anticipate sending a ‘recommendation’ within 120 days. They ignore the President’s open declarations confirming no intention to make new rules, and instead merge evidence of this declaration being a decision with the claim that the declarations themselves are a decision.”
The court was particularly interested in whether SEC was maneuvering to reject Coinbase’s rulemaking petition, or if SEC needed more time to digest the petition. Late in May, Coinbase submitted a mandamus petition asking the court to inspect the regulatory body’s regulatory approach to crypto. However, this seems not to have been very fruitful.
