On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissed a petition by crypto exchange Coinbase for the creation of tailored regulations for the industry. The petition had been submitted by Coinbase last year, in which they asked the SEC to bring “regulatory clarity” to crypto markets.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler commented in a statement, “There is nothing about the crypto securities markets that suggests that investors and issuers are less deserving of the protections of our securities laws.”
Coinbase had previously filed an action in April this year, that the SEC respond to their petition with a yes or no answer. Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, noted that if the SEC said no, Coinbase would challenge the decision in court.
The SEC’s denial of Coinbase’s petition comes as the company is preparing to fight separate charges brought by the SEC that they are operating as an unregistered securities exchange, clearing agency and broker. The SEC alleges that Coinbase has violated federal law by not registering with the agency, as some of the crypto tokens offered by Coinbase meet the definition of a security. Coinbase denies that the tokens listed on their exchange are securities.
The company will make their case in front of a federal judge on January 17. They will argue for the dismissal of the SEC’s charges.
