Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith said that Coinbase's recent legal victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) underscores the agency's "regulation by enforcement" approach to the cryptocurrency industry. Smith shared her statement in a January 13 post on X.
"Today, the courts delivered a definitive rebuke of the SEC's regulation-by-enforcement approach to crypto," said Smith. "American crypto companies have endured this lawfare for too long. It must end. We look forward to a new approach under the @realDonaldTrump administration."
According to a document filed on January 13 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Coinbase had filed a petition for rulemaking in 2022, requesting that the SEC clarify how federal securities laws apply to digital assets. The SEC denied this petition, expressing disagreement with its concerns and citing "higher-priority agenda items." Coinbase then sought a review of the SEC's denial, leading judges to find the SEC's order "conclusory and insufficiently reasoned, and thus arbitrary and capricious." The judges partially granted Coinbase's petition and remanded the case to the SEC for further explanation.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler commented on the denial of the rulemaking petition, asserting his belief that securities laws established in 1933 and 1934 are adequate for regulating the crypto industry. "The existing securities regime appropriately governs crypto asset securities," Gensler said.
Gensler announced his resignation as SEC chair effective January 20, according to Federal Newswire. Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Timothy Massad suggested on Federal Newswire's Lunch Hour podcast that SEC Chair-nominee Paul Atkins might adopt a "more favorable" stance towards the crypto industry than Gensler did.
Prior to her role at the Blockchain Association, Smith worked in both House and Senate offices and advocated for companies in tech-focused industries, including telecommunications, as noted on the Blockchain Association's website.
