The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denied a petition filed on behalf of cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase that called for the creation of a new regulatory framework for crypto asset securities.
On Friday, the SEC notified Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal of its decision regarding his call for cryptocurrency rulemaking. The agency’s response said it disagreed with Grewal’s belief the existing regulatory framework around crypto assets securities is unworkable.
“The commission is also engaged in many undertakings that relate to regulatory priorities extending well beyond crypto asset securities,” the agency’s letter to Grewal stated. “The requested regulatory action would significantly constrain the commission’s choices regarding competing priorities, and the commission declines to undertake it at this time.”
SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Republication Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda each chimed in on the matter. Gensler supported the decision, while Peirce and Uyeda disagreed.
“The commission has long explained that, as with any type of instrument, if a particular crypto asset is offered and sold as a security, its offer or sale requires disclosure through the registration process developed by Congress to protect investors,” said Gensler in a statement. “… The existing securities regime appropriately governs crypto asset securities.”
In their statement, Peirce and Uyeda lamented the SEC not opening the petition up for public feedback to determine whether rulemaking was needed.
“The public benefits from open conversations about how new products and services can be offered within a sensible regulatory framework to meet the needs of our fellow Americans,” they wrote. “We hope that interested persons continue to posit specific rule changes, guidance, and exemptions that would form a useful basis for the crypto industry to continue its development within the United States.”
Grewal filed his petition in July 2022. In response to the SEC’s decision, he said the company would challenge the agency’s rejection.
“No one looking fairly at our industry thinks the law is clear or that there isn’t more work to do,” he wrote on X.
In June, Coinbase was charged by the SEC with operating an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency and the unregistered offer and sale of securities.
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