Crypto.com Takes SEC to Court, Claims Regulatory Overreach

Crypto.com sued the US securities watchdog for allegedly overstepping its mandate. The crypto exchange claims the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended its
jurisdiction beyond statutory limits by interpreting crypto
assets as securities.

This lawsuit reportedly followed a Wells notice by the regulator
against the company. In its statement, the exchange argued that the SEC had
imposed an unlawful rule categorizing most crypto transactions as securities,
while transactions involving Bitcoin and Ether escape this
classification.

Crypto Regulations

In addition to the lawsuit, Crypto.com Derivatives
North America (CDNA) petitioned the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
and the SEC for clarification on the regulation of certain cryptocurrency
derivative products. Crypto.com maintains that the regulator’s distinction lacks a
foundation in law and ignores the similarities between these assets.

“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 and Ether are somehow not,”
Crypto.com mentioned.

The petition seeks to confirm that these products fall
exclusively under the jurisdiction of the CFTC. The company highlighted the Dodd-Frank
Act, a regulation that facilitates joint interpretations between regulatory
bodies.

SEC to Respond

Under the joint rules, the CFTC and SEC have 120 days
to respond to the petition, either by issuing an interpretation or providing
written justification for denial. This process is designed to enhance
regulatory clarity for market participants.

In June, Coinbase, another major crypto exchange, filed a lawsuit against the SEC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC). The lawsuits claimed that both agencies failed to fulfill Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted to the US District Court for the
District of Columbia.

The filed case mentioned that the two regulators did
not provide the requested information under the Act, thus undermining the
transparency in regulatory dealings. Coinbase also faulted the agencies for actions
perceived as attempting to marginalize the cryptocurrency industry within the
banking sector.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.
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