Coinbase Vs SEC: Will Court Force US SEC To Respond To Coinbase’s Petition?

Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal on June 17th revealed that Coinbase sent a letter urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to compel the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to respond to the rulemaking petition quickly.

On June 13, the US securities regulator sent a letter to the court requesting an additional 120 days to respond to crypto exchange Coinbase’s rulemaking petition, claiming there’s no merit to Coinbase’s extraordinary request.

XRP Lawyer And Coinbase CLO Grewal Urge Court To Ask SEC To Reply

XRP lawyer John Deaton calls the response by Coinbase “persuasive and compelling” as the US SEC continues to evade questions on crypto regulatory clarity.

Outstanding job 👏 Coinbase writes a persuasive and compelling response. https://t.co/67Ttp96Fel

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) June 17, 2023

Also Read: US House Chair Supports BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, Schedules SEC Oversight Hearings

Paul Grewal said crypto exchange Coinbase can’t wait until the next week’s deadline to address the US SEC’s indecisive response to an earlier court order.

Grewal argues it is unusual for the government to disregard a direct inquiry in federal court. The court should rule now as the US SEC has decided not to grant Coinbase’s rulemaking petition. The US SEC avoiding the rulemaking petition is actively harming the industry amid the government agency’s escalating enforcement actions.

Moreover, the SEC’s refusal to say how long it will take to act on Coinbase’s petition confirms the possibility of further delays. The court should order the SEC to report its action within 60 days. If the SEC has not acted by then, the court should rule quickly on the enforcement order.

Coinbase claims the petition was originally filed in the summer 2022 and the US SEC is knowingly evading answering to questions related to regulatory frameworks in the US and how the agency regulates the crypto market. The lack of clarity on crypto regulation in the US is impacting the crypto industry and investors.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler continues to believe that most crypto assets are securities. In addition, there’s still no clarity over whether SEC or CFTC has jurisdiction to regulate crypto.

Meanwhile, US House Financial Services Committee has released a draft stablecoin bill and aims to bring clarity over crypto regulation in the US in the coming weeks. The bill will also bring clarity over whether SEC or CFTC has jurisdiction.

Also Read: Binance, Binance.US Reaches Deal With The US SEC