Global Coinbase addressed a federal appeals court on Monday, September 23, in an effort to force the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to create new rules for digital assets.
The cryptocurrency exchange sued the SEC last year after the regulator rejected its request for new regulations, seeking to force it to do so, Reuters reported Monday.
Coinbase Global wanted the SEC provide clarification on when a digital asset is a security and to create a market structure framework compatible with cryptocurrencieswhile the SEC stated that current regulations can cover the crypto sector, according to the report.
During Monday’s hearing, a lawyer for Coinbase told the court that the SEC blocked the company from operate in compliance with U.S. regulations, the report said.
An SEC attorney said existing regulations are sufficient and the agency is not required to create new rules, according to the report.
The three judges hearing the arguments said Monday that the SEC can define your own regulatory priorities but I asked the regulator explains why cryptocurrency was not among these priorities, according to the report.
In a thread job Monday on X, Coinbase General Counsel Paul Grewal wrote that the SEC refused to provide regulatory guidance while Also engage in a campaign of “arbitrary” enforcement.
“Regulation by enforcement only harms American consumers, innovation, American competitiveness, and our national security,” Grewal wrote in the thread. “Coinbase is committed to leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to bring clarity to our industry and the millions of Americans who hold cryptocurrencies.”
When the SEC announced in December 2023 that it had decided, by a vote of 3 to 2, to reject Coinbase’s request for new rules in the digital assets sector, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said he supported the decision for three reasons.
“First, existing laws and regulations apply to crypto securities markets,” Gensler said at the time. in a statement. “Second, the SEC also addresses crypto securities markets through rulemaking. Third, it is important to retain the discretionary power of the Commission in establishing its own regulatory priorities.
