Breaking: SEC Investigating All Crypto Exchanges, Will Gensler Sue Another Exchange?

All crypto exchange under investigation by the SEC, as per Senator Cynthia Lummis' staffer. XRP Lawyer John Deaton claims there's more to it.
By Varinder Singh
SEC Investigating All Crypto Exchanges, Will Gensler Sue Another Exchange?

Every crypto exchange is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), claims an official from U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis’ office. Lawyer John E. Deaton may have correctly predicted that SEC Chair Gary Gensler is going to “sue an exchange whether it’s Coinbase, Binance, or another exchange by the end of the year.”

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All Crypto Exchanges Targeted by SEC Chair Gary Gensler

A staffer from U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis’ office said all crypto exchanges in the U.S., as well as Binance, are under investigation by the SEC, reports Forbes on August 4.

XRP lawyer John E. Deaton in a recent tweet reaffirmed his earlier statement that the SEC is likely to sue another exchange this year.

” I say the SEC will sue an exchange or more than one. The SEC is likely to pick 2-4 exchanges that each sale 5-10 of the same tokens the SEC claims are securities. It could be 1 Complaint vs several defendants.”

The SEC investigation into Coinbase’s listing of unregistered securities is already known. Moreover, SEC Chair Gary Gensler is reportedly looking for other charges on the crypto exchange. Earlier reports also show that the SEC is reportedly investigating Binance’s initial coin offering of its crypto token Binance Coin (BNB) in 2017.

The SEC claims most cryptocurrencies are securities and comes under the jurisdiction of the commission. Gary Gensler earlier in June this year asserted that all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin are securities.

The “regulation by enforcement” has been criticized by Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Caroline Pham, legislators, and crypto experts.

Cynthia Lummis’ staffer believes the U.S. Congress would eventually pick the CFTC for regulating the crypto industry if the dispute is not resolved internally. Former SEC director William Hinman’s in a 2018 speech said “Ethereum is not a security.” It is also one of the strong pieces of evidence in the SEC v. Ripple case.

A crypto exchange has also revealed that the SEC has already sent Wells Notices to U.S. exchanges informing them of actions to be brought against them.

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Crypto Bills Proposing CFTC Jurisdiction Over Cryptocurrencies

Two bipartisan crypto-related bills have been proposed in the U.S. Senate so far, both claim CFTC jurisdiction over cryptocurrencies. However, both bills are unlikely to pass this year.

The Responsible Financial Innovation Act by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand in June for regulating digital assets. The Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act by Senators Debbie Stabenow and John Boozman yesterday classified Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities, giving more jurisdiction to CFTC.

Meanwhile, Binance has delisted the AMP token that SEC classified as a security. Also, a petition against SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s resignation seems to have picked pace.

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Varinder Singh
Varinder has over 10 years of experience and is known as a seasoned leader for his involvement in the fintech sector. With over 5 years dedicated to blockchain, crypto, and Web3 developments, he has experienced two Bitcoin halving events making him key opinion leader in the space. At CoinGape Media, Varinder leads the editorial decisions, spearheading the news team to cover latest updates, markets trends and developments within the crypto industry. The company was recognized as Best Crypto Media Company 2024 for high impact and quality reporting. Being a Master of Technology degree holder, analytics thinker, technology enthusiast, Varinder has shared his knowledge of disruptive technologies in over 5000+ news, articles, and papers.
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