Coinbase has criticized the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for dodging its regulatory petition as part of its ongoing lawsuit against the regulator.
On June 13, the SEC informed the court that it had yet to rule on a course of action regarding the petition, adding that there should be no specific deadline for a response or a requirement to provide periodic reports at the request of the plaintiff.
Coinbase pushed the SEC to issue regulatory guidance for the digital asset industry in July 2022, which in part led to the exchange suing the agency in April after a lack of response.
In the latest letter, a letter from Coinbase’s defense team reiterated earlier claims that the SEC refused to provide regulatory clarity while demanding compliance with non-existent rules.
Citing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler as saying “The rules and regulations are already clear,” Coinbase argued in the days after the agency sued Coinbase that the agency probably wouldn’t engage in rule-making and that a summons from mandamus is required to force the agency to perform.
On June 6, the SEC sued Coinbase for violating several securities laws, including operating as an unregistered exchange.
Pointing out inconsistencies in the SEC’s approach, Coinbase stated in its June 13 filing that it had yet to decide on its regulatory policy, contradicting Gensler’s statement above.
“When the SEC was ordered by this court to address the stark inconsistency between its litigation position and its actions and statements elsewhere, the SEC still fails to provide clear answers and instead reiterates its talking points”
In addition, further criticism was leveled at the agency’s failure to address the overlap between its enforcement action against Coinbase and the exchange’s legal request for clear rules.
“The SEC’s comment that an agency can pursue both enforcement and regulation ignores the unprecedented nature of its conduct here.”
A refusal to provide rules that define cryptocurrencies and a path to registration, instead, legislation through enforcement, is not a “legal replacement,” Coinbase said.
For those reasons, it urged the court to grant his mandamus request.
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