The United States SEC has said that it will need 120 days before it can respond to the rulemaking request by Coinbase. The securities regulator added that the action has “no merit.”
In a June 13 court filing submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the Securities and Exchange Commission asserted that it has not yet made a decision on Coinbase’s request. Consequently, it has asked for four months to prepare a response to the crypto exchange regulatory clarity request.
The letter was sent in response to a court order dated June 6 asking the SEC to state whether it was opposing the regulation or whether it needed additional time to reply.
Recall that in July 2022, Coinbase submitted a petition to the SEC seeking clear regulatory guidelines for the crypto industry. Fast forward to April 2023, the crypto exchange giant requested a writ of mandamus in a court filing. This filing was to compel the Securities and Exchange Commission to take action regarding its previous petition.
Related Reading: Ex-Coinbase Manager Reaches Agreement With SEC Over Insider Trading Charges
The courts directed the SEC to respond to specific inquiries within seven days on June 7, 2023. The SEC responded with its newest letter, claiming that Coinbase’s “extraordinary” request for a writ of mandamus within seven days is without merit.
Furthermore, the Commission said that it has not made any decision on what action to take on that petition. Also, the regulator urged that the court should deny the Coinbase petition stating that there should be no specific deadline for decision-making. The SEC however asserted that it would be able to make a recommendation on the rulemaking petition “within the next 120 days.”
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal responds to SEC letter
Meanwhile, in a Twitter thread earlier today, Coinbase CLO responded to the letter presented by the SEC, stating that Commission has “no intent to issue new rules.”
“They repeat the fallacy that they haven’t made any decision on new crypto rules,” “They refuse to commit to any deadline despite the Court’s explicit order,” “They instead “anticipate” making a “recommendation” in 120 days; and most importantly,” the thread reads.
4) they ignore the clear statements of the Chair that confirm they have no intent to issue new rules, and instead conflate the evidence of a decision those statements provide with an argument that the statements are themselves a decision. 3/5
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) June 13, 2023
The SEC was served with the court’s decision on the same day the agency sued Coinbase for issuing unregistered securities and running an unregistered securities exchange.
