Leading cryptocurrency firms Coinbase and Ripple Labs are looking to strategically leverage a recent judicial decision in the SEC’s case against Binance to bolster their own legal battles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In court filings, both companies have underlined the need for regulatory clarity in the digital assets space. They cited a landmark decision in the Binance case as a crucial point of reference. Coinbase’s court filing on Tuesday emphasized the need for the SEC to engage in rulemaking regarding digital assets. The filing criticized the agency’s approach as inconsistent and retroactive.
“Binance also supports the SEC’s engagement in rulemaking regarding digital assets,” Coinbase said in its filing. They argue that rulemaking is necessary because the SEC has taken a new and comprehensive, yet still vague, view of securities laws. This view, they claim, has never been consistently explained, but has been retroactively imposed on the digital asset industry.
Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson denied Binance’s request to dismiss its lawsuit with the SEC. However, she rejected some of the SEC’s allegations, including the classification of secondary sales of Binance Coin (BNB) as securities. This dismissal of the secondary selling charge was welcomed within the crypto industry.
Legal experts have interpreted Judge Jackson’s decision as an indication that decisions in crypto-related cases should be made on an individual basis. This ruling is seen as a potential precedent for other ongoing legal battles in the crypto space. Ripple and Coinbase are now aiming to use this decision to strengthen their arguments against the SEC’s regulatory stance.
The ongoing legal conflicts between the SEC and major cryptocurrency firms highlight the urgent need for clear and consistent regulations in the digital asset space. As these cases unfold, the crypto industry will be watching closely to see how these decisions shape the future of digital assets and their regulation.
