Coinbase received significant support in its battle against the SEC as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce took its side. In a brief filed on Tuesday, it stated that “An agency’s justifications for delay must always be balanced against the potential for harm.”
The brief then continued to elaborate, saying that the SEC’s constant refusal to settle on Coinbase’s rulemaking petition is causing considerable economic harm to both Coinbase and the business community as a whole. It also mentioned that “the SEC’s inaction substantially nullifies rights guaranteed by the Due Process Clause and the Administrative Procedure Act.”
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Arguments
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce then goes into detail, providing three major arguments. The first is: “regulatory uncertainty chills economic growth and innovation,” where the organization said that apart from harming digital-asset businesses, this also weakens American economic and strategic interests overall.
The second argument is that “the SEC’s refusal to respond to Coinbase’s rulemaking petition or otherwise engage in rulemaking has destabilized the regulatory environment for digital assets.” The organization then says that all this regulatory trouble isn’t a coincidence but intentional, accusing the SEC of the issue.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s final argument is that “the SEC’s approach abridged regulated parties’ right to fair notice and the public’s right to notice and comment.” This one might have the most significant impact since, in the continuation of the argument, the organization calls the SEC’s actions not just harmful but unlawful too.
The Wells Notice
In March, the SEC issued a Wells notice to Coinbase, claiming they broke securities laws regarding their listed digital assets, Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime, and Coinbase Wallet.
During that time, Paul Grewal, the Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, stated that the company met with the SEC many times but never got any feedback on what it needed to change.
The support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is quite the news for Coinbase and the crypto industry since the organization is one of the world’s largest and very influential. Founded in 1912, the organization states that for businesses, they “serve as their ally and champion on Capitol Hill, in the courts, in the state houses, and markets around the world.”
