Coinbase is taking action to strengthen its position in the ongoing legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The cryptocurrency exchange has submitted a comprehensive response to the SEC’s request for an additional 120 days to respond to its rulemaking petition. Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, highlighted the urgency of addressing the SEC’s non-compliance with the earlier court order before the deadline.
Grewal believes it is unusual for the government to disregard a direct inquiry from a federal court. As a result, Coinbase’s CLO has requested a mandamus from the court.
Coinbase CLO asks court to grant mandamus
The SEC recently contacted the judge, seeking more time to reply to Coinbase’s regulation petition. However, the regulator has yet to decide on its next course of action.
According to Coinbase, the petition was initially submitted in the summer of 2022. The SEC has been avoiding discussions on regulatory frameworks and its oversight of the cryptocurrency industry in the United States.
The lack of regulatory clarity in crypto significantly impacts crypto businesses and investors, especially with the SEC’s increasing enforcement activities.
Grewal argued that the SEC’s refusal to consider Coinbase’s applications should prompt the court to issue a mandamus in favor of Coinbase. Therefore the exchange has requested that the SEC respond within 60 days of receiving the court’s petition.
Gary Gensler, the chairman of the SEC, has consistently advocated for treating most crypto assets as securities in response to the confusion surrounding their categorization and regulation.
Additionally, the jurisdictional issue of whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or the SEC should oversee cryptocurrency further adds to the uncertainty.
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee has released a draft stablecoin law to address these concerns. This legislation aims to clarify crypto regulations and determine whether the CFTC or the SEC has authority over the cryptocurrency market. The committee plans to finalize and present the draft in the coming weeks.
