A coalition of crypto entrepreneurs filed a lawsuit in Texas this week that could force the Supreme Court to take up the all-important question of whether the Securities and Exchange Commission has the authority to regulate most digital assets. The outcome of the fight could determine the future for companies like crypto exchanges Coinbase Global Inc.
COIN,
-2.88%,
Binance and Kraken, as well as variety of up-and-coming crypto projects like Solana
SOLUSD,
-1.47%,
Cardano
ADAUSD,
-1.21%
and Polygon
MATICUSD,
-1.02%
— all of whom the SEC has accused of violating federal securities law by failing to register with the agency.
The Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas, a nonprofit trade group, and Lejilex, yet-to-be-launched crypto exchange, filed a complaint in federal court Wednesday seeking a judicial declaration that sales of digital assets are not securities transactions, as the SEC has alleged in its lawsuits against Coinbase, Binance and Kraken. Read more: SEC charges Coinbase for illegally operating an unregistered securities exchange “We wish we were launching our business instead of filing a lawsuit, but here we are,” said Mike Wawszczak, Co-Founder of Lejilex, in a statement. “The SEC’s rogue enforcement actions targeting our industry have paralyzed those of us who just want to build lawful businesses and technologies.” The SEC declined to comment. The industry hired the law firm of Clement & Murphy — led by former Solicitor General Paul Clement and litigator Erin Murphy — which specializes in “strategic litigation,” or court cases that are motivated by a desire to bring about broader policy change, often through rulings at the Supreme Court. The lawsuit was filed in district court in the federal judiciary’s Fifth Circuit, known for its conservative-leaning judges, and was assigned to Judge Reed O’Conner, a George W. Bush appointee famous for his rulings that have undermined the Obamacare law and other liberal causes. “The crypto industry needed to find a way for these very conservative courts to hear these cases, because there’s no way they’re going to rule for the SEC,” said Todd Phillips, an administrative-law expert who teaches at Georgia State University. The Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas and Lejilex want Judge O’Connor to issue a declaratory judgement saying that the exchange doesn’t have to register with the …
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COIN,
-2.88%,
Binance and Kraken, as well as variety of up-and-coming crypto projects like Solana
SOLUSD,
-1.47%,
Cardano
ADAUSD,
-1.21%
and Polygon
MATICUSD,
-1.02%
— all of whom the SEC has accused of violating federal securities law by failing to register with the agency.
The Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas, a nonprofit trade group, and Lejilex, yet-to-be-launched crypto exchange, filed a complaint in federal court Wednesday seeking a judicial declaration that sales of digital assets are not securities transactions, as the SEC has alleged in its lawsuits against Coinbase, Binance and Kraken. Read more: SEC charges Coinbase for illegally operating an unregistered securities exchange “We wish we were launching our business instead of filing a lawsuit, but here we are,” said Mike Wawszczak, Co-Founder of Lejilex, in a statement. “The SEC’s rogue enforcement actions targeting our industry have paralyzed those of us who just want to build lawful businesses and technologies.” The SEC declined to comment. The industry hired the law firm of Clement & Murphy — led by former Solicitor General Paul Clement and litigator Erin Murphy — which specializes in “strategic litigation,” or court cases that are motivated by a desire to bring about broader policy change, often through rulings at the Supreme Court. The lawsuit was filed in district court in the federal judiciary’s Fifth Circuit, known for its conservative-leaning judges, and was assigned to Judge Reed O’Conner, a George W. Bush appointee famous for his rulings that have undermined the Obamacare law and other liberal causes. “The crypto industry needed to find a way for these very conservative courts to hear these cases, because there’s no way they’re going to rule for the SEC,” said Todd Phillips, an administrative-law expert who teaches at Georgia State University. The Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas and Lejilex want Judge O’Connor to issue a declaratory judgement saying that the exchange doesn’t have to register with the …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]