Reading 2 minutes Published Updated
The U.S. securities regulator has asked for another four months to respond to Coinbase’s request for clarity on cryptocurrency regulation.
In a June 13 letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it needed another 120 days to respond to Coinbase’s request for new rules and more clarity on laws governing crypto. .
The letter was sent in response to a June 6 SEC court ruling asking the regulator to say whether it denies rulemaking or needs more time to respond.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said it “has not decided what action to take on this petition, in whole or in part,” and said that Coinbase’s request for a writ is “without merit.”
The regulator said the mandamus petition “should be denied” but expected to be able to make a recommendation on Coinbase’s rulemaking petition “within the next 120 days.”
In response to the letter, Coinbase General Counsel Paul Grewal told his 40,000 Twitter followers that the SEC repeated the “misconception” that it has yet to decide on any new rules.
Related: Hinman Papers Suggest SEC Is Wrong Agency to Manage Digital Assets, Crypto Lawyer Says
He added that the letter ignored clear statements by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler that the SEC “does not intend to issue new rules.”
“[SEC] instead combines the evidence for the solution presented in these statements with the argument that the statements themselves are the solution,” Grewal said.
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
“They refuse to set any deadlines, despite an unequivocal order from the court,” Grewal added.
The SEC’s court order came on the same day that the regulator sued Coinbase for listing unlisted securities and operating an unlisted securities exchange.