- Bittrex and its founder file a motion to dismiss the Commission’s complaint
- For this, the company hired two well-known law firms.
- The SEC has been investigating the exchange for 6 years
Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex announced about starting a fight against the SEC. The founder of the company filed a motion to dismiss the complaint from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, choosing the path of confrontation instead of settlement. To this end, Bittrex turned to influential law firms: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and King & Spalding.
Prominent lawyer and founder of MetaLawman, James Murphy, on his Twitter page called the move a light of hope for those worried about potential SEC overreach.
Bittrex’s motion to dismiss the SEC complaint is based on three key arguments:
- Cryptocurrency assets that are traded on secondary markets cannot be considered securities.
- The SEC is not competent in this area and has violated procedural rules by failing to provide fair notice of its claims.
The company also says in a statement:
“After six years of investigation, during which the SEC was unable to provide a single example of a cryptocurrency asset that it claims was illegally traded on the Bittrex platform, the agency accuses Bittrex of numerous violations of securities laws due to the lack of registration. However, the Commission still lacks conclusive evidence for its claims, which go beyond its mandate and run counter to key precedents in securities law.”