In the ongoing legal tussle between the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Coinbase, the crypto community, digital asset organizations, and lawmakers have rallied behind the call for the dismissal of the lawsuit. Adding to the ranks of those supporting Coinbase’s cause, attorney Patrick Kennedy has entered the arena, making a formal request to the court to represent the Chamber of Digital Commerce as amicus counsel.
In a legal filing dated August 31, Kennedy submitted a motion to be admitted pro hac vice, a legal term meaning “for this occasion,” signaling his intent to serve as counsel for amicus The Chamber of Digital Commerce. Alongside the Blockchain Association, the Chamber of Digital Commerce has played a crucial role as an amicus in the ongoing lawsuit. An amicus, in a legal context, is a party or individual not directly involved in the case but provides advice to the court. The Chamber of Digital Commerce’s objective is clear: to halt the SEC’s efforts to regulate the digital asset sector through enforcement actions. They argue that the SEC’s actions contradict the intentions of both houses of the U.S. Congress, which are actively crafting cryptocurrency regulations.
Coinbase executives, Brian Armstrong and Paul Grewal, maintain a positive outlook on the lawsuit’s potential dismissal. Grewal asserts that the SEC, under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler, is attempting to stifle cryptocurrency innovation in the United States. Furthermore, lawmakers have also called upon the court to dismiss the lawsuit. Recent rulings in the Ripple and Grayscale cases have highlighted the SEC’s lack of clarity in distinguishing which cryptocurrencies should be classified as securities, underscoring a deficiency in regulatory transparency.
Chair Gary Gensler advocates for categorizing all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin as securities and extending the SEC’s authority to oversee the entire crypto industry. However, the SEC’s credibility has been questioned due to what some perceive as inconsistent claims regarding cryptocurrencies. Additionally, the SEC’s delay in making decisions on seven Bitcoin ETFs could potentially result in financial losses for investors.
