Yesterday, the only publicly traded digital asset exchange, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), announced that it has received a Wells Notice from the SEC indicating there is a high possibility of an enforcement action. Coinbase criticized the move by the SEC, stating that it has attempted to engage with the Commission and resolve any issues for many months = only to be stonewalled by leadership at the agency.
Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, has issued a statement on the news throwing shade at US regulators – while comparing theme to other jurisdictions.
“Some in the US see the crypto industry as a bunch of whiners trying to take advantage of regulatory loopholes. I challenge anyone with that view to read this post and come away clinging to that impression. What’s true is that a reprehensible amount of resources and brainpower have been spent in the US trying to engage with this SEC and trying to create substance and a path out of the wraithlike comments issued by the agency. Meanwhile, most other major economies are actively in productive consultation with experts about how to land the regulatory plane. The EU has its landmark MiCA regulation, Japan is getting ready to issue further guidance, the UK is making moves to be a crypto hub, and Hong Kong is doing the same. Are we really going to allow one agency in the US to set the entire trajectory of an innovation for the entire country, especially if that agency refuses to engage with the industry it is trying to regulate?”
Meanwhile, the SEC’s inability to engage with digital asset innovators may push these firms to other jurisdictions. Recently, Circle announced that had applied for regulation in France – a jurisdiction that has crafted bespoke crypto rules.