The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected a petition from crypto exchange Coinbase that sought the establishment of new regulations specifically for the digital asset sector.
Coinbase submitted the petition last July, requesting the SEC to “propose and adopt rules to govern the regulation of securities that are offered and traded via digitally native methods.”
In a 3-2 vote, the commission denied the petition, asserting that it does not agree with Coinbase’s characterization of the current regulatory framework as “unworkable” for crypto securities. SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated, “The existing securities regime appropriately governs crypto asset securities.”
Since filing its petition, Coinbase has faced a lawsuit from the SEC for allegedly operating its crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
Republican Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda supported Coinbase’s petition, expressing in a joint statement that it “raises issues presented by new technologies and other innovation.”