Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking clarity on how digital assets will be regulated in America.
Specifically, Coinbase is asking that the Wall Street regulator be forced to decide whether it will allow the cryptocurrency sector to be governed by existing rules and frameworks.
A July 2022 petition orchestrated by Coinbase called for the SEC to “propose and adopt rules to govern the regulation of securities that are offered and traded via digitally native methods,” referring to cryptocurrencies.
The SEC did not offer a public response to the petition, but in recent months has aggressively ramped up enforcement actions and warnings against crypto exchanges such as Coinbase.
Since the start of this year, the SEC has taken action against crypto exchanges such as Bittrex and Gemini, as well as cryptocurrency lender Genesis.
In March of this year, Coinbase was warned by the SEC of pending legal action through a public notice, though no official action has yet been taken by the regulator.
Now, Coinbase is seeking to force the SEC to clarify its intentions when it comes to the future regulation of the cryptocurrency sector.
“Regulatory clarity is overdue for our industry,” said Coinbase in a blog post detailing its legal case against the SEC. “Coinbase and other crypto companies are facing potential regulatory enforcement actions from the SEC, even though we have not been told how the SEC believes the law applies to our business.”
Coinbase’s stock has declined 60% over the past year to $54.75 U.S. per share.
