The U.S. Chamber of Commerce voiced support for the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange and accused the SEC of “deliberately creating a dangerous and uncertain environment” for crypto companies operating in the country.
The organization filed the court brief as an amicus curiae — “a friend of the court”. In its view, the regulator chose a “disjointed, enforcement-oriented approach”.
“The SEC deliberately muddled the situation, claiming full authority over digital assets,” the statement says.
The Chamber urged the Commission to respond promptly to Coinbase’s complaint. The exchange filed it after receiving notice from the SEC about an investigation into the listing procedure on the platform and its products — Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Wallet and staking service Coinbase Earn.
Separately, the company responded to the regulator’s allegations, saying it was prepared to “vigorously defend itself”. The firm’s representatives noted that the agency could suffer reputational damage as a result of the proceedings.
In the Chamber’s view, the SEC’s failure to respond to Coinbase’s complaint is not just harmful to the industry:
“The actions of the SEC … are illegal; and for this reason the consequences of the ongoing delay are serious”.
The organization also noted that there is still no clear answer as to which digital assets are ‘securities’ under federal law.
“Notably, the Securities and Exchange Commission — despite proclaiming itself the primary regulator of digital assets — refused to address this issue”, the letter says.
Earlier, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said that the SEC had launched a “crusade” against the crypto industry. Amid tensions between the company and the regulator, a post on the former’s blog said that the UAE could become a strategic hub in Coinbase’s overseas expansion.
In April, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire did not rule out the United States losing its leading position in the sector to the EU, Hong Kong and the UAE.
Besides Coinbase, the SEC pointed to violations at Bittrex, Kraken, Gemini and Genesis. In turn, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a suitagainst Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao, accusing the crypto exchange of “willful evasion of U.S. law” and non-compliance with the rules.
As Palihapitiya, the billionaire founder of the venture capital firm Social Capital, said regulators are “killing” the cryptocurrency industry in the United States.