One of the leading crypto exchanges in the world is striking back against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in court.
After receiving a Wells notice from the SEC – an indication that the regulator is investigating a person or entity – Singapore-based crypto exchange Crypto.com announced today that they filed a suit against the agency.
“Today, Crypto.com has filed suit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We are doing so to protect the future of the crypto industry in the U.S., joining a series of our peers who are actively defending themselves and taking action against a misguided federal agency acting beyond its authorization under the law.”
According to the announcement, the SEC’s regulation style has forced Crypto.com to take unprecedented legal action against the SEC.
“Specifically, our lawsuit contends that the SEC has unilaterally expanded its jurisdiction beyond statutory limits and separately that the SEC has established an unlawful rule that trades in nearly all crypto assets are securities transactions no matter how they are sold, whereas identical transactions in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) are somehow not.
This unlawful rule never went through a notice and comment period required by the Administrative Procedure Act and furthermore the agency’s application thereof is arbitrary and capricious, particularly when those crypto assets possess virtually indistinguishable characteristics from and are sold in an identical manner as BTC and ETH.
We seek to stop the SEC’s illegal actions in excess of their authority and in violation of federal law in their tracks.”
The full filing can be read here.
Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek also took to X to comment on the SEC’s ongoing hostility toward the industry.
“The SEC’s unauthorized overreach and unlawful rulemaking regarding crypto must stop.
Recent rulings have made clear that crypto is not itself a security and thus is not an investment contract simply because it changes hands.
For this reason, and many others, we continue to be very bullish on the U.S. crypto market and our imminent plans to expand our offerings to U.S. customers.”
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