Crypto-friendly Senator Cynthia Lummis has filed an Amicus Brief supporting Coinbase’s motion to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against the firm.
An Amicus Brief is a document filed in court by a party that is not directly involved with the related case. They are generally used to add supporting arguments to one side of the lawsuit, and emphasize how the case will have a broader impact beyond the involved parties.
As per the Aug. 11 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Lummis stressed that “this is no run-of-the-mill enforcement case.”
The Senator asserted that with its lawsuit against Coinbase over alleged securities violations, the SEC is pushing to obtain “primary influence” over the crypto sector at a time in which regulation and other factors are still “under active consideration by Congress and multiple agencies.”
“The SEC brings this enforcement action in the midst of debates in the halls of Congress and around the world about how crypto assets should be regulated. The Constitution empowers Congress—not the SEC—to legislate in such an area of profound economic and political significance.”
“Although the SEC seeks broad authority over crypto asset markets, most legislative proposals in Congress would instead grant much of that authority to other agencies. Unsatisfied, the SEC seeks to circumvent the political process to commandeer that authority for itself,” she added.
Senator Cynthia Lummis (R. WY) just filed an Amicus Brief supporting @Coinbase‘s motion to dismiss the SEC’s complaint.@SenLummis is Co-Sponsor of the Lummis-Gillibrand crypto regulation bill.
Coinbase filed a motion to dismiss on Aug. 4, arguing that the SEC had “violated due process, abused its discretion, and abandoned its own earlier interpretations of the securities laws,” by asserting authority over the exchange.
In the court filing, Lummis went on to argue that the SEC has been overstepping its authority by claiming that nearly all crypto assets are securities, as she questioned the agency’s supposed regulation-by-enforcement approach, or what she described as an attempt to “legislate by enforcement.”
“The SEC’s attempt to shoehorn an entire new class of assets into the existing definition of a ‘security,’ and thereby add to the definition enumerated by Congress, exceeds the SEC’s authority, encroaches on Congress’s lawmaking, and contravenes the separation of powers. The SEC cannot legislate by enforcement.”
Lummis is not alone in filing an Amicus Brief supporting Coinbase’s motion to dismiss.
On Aug. 11, crypto advocacy groups including the Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation, Chamber of Progress and Consumer Tech Association also submitted a joint filing.
In an X (Twitter) thread announcing the move, the Blockchain Association’s senior counsel Marisa Tashman echoed Lummis’ comments that the “SEC’s regulatory authority extends only to what Congress granted it,” as she highlighted the risks of the SEC’s approach to the sector:
“The SEC’s interpretation threatens to sweep in many non-security assets – this can’t be what Congress intended when it granted the SEC authority to regulate securities.”
“The SEC takes the position that nearly all digital assets sold on the secondary market are investment contracts under the federal securities laws. But, these transactions involve no ongoing contractual obligations. The SEC’s position is wrong,” she added.
Sir Keir Starmer has said the next election will be an “open fight” between Labour and Reform UK.
The prime minister, speaking at a conference alongside the leaders of Canada, Australia and Iceland, said the UK is “at a crossroads”.
“There’s a battle for the soul of this country, now, as to what sort of country do we want to be?” he said.
“Because that toxic divide, that decline with Reform, it’s built on a sense of grievance.”
It is the first time Sir Keir has explicitly said the next election would be a straight fight between his party and Reform – and comes the day before the Labour conference begins.
Just hours before, after Sky News revealed Nigel Farage is on course to replace him, as a seat-by-seat YouGov poll found an election held tomorrow would result in a hung parliament, with Reform winning 311 seats – just 15 short of the 326 needed to win overall.
Once the Speaker, whose seat is unopposed, and Sinn Fein MPs, who do not sit in parliament, are accounted for, no other party would be able to secure more MPs, so Reform would lead the government.
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YouGov: Farage set to be next PM
Sir Keir said there is a “right-wing proposition” the UK has not had before, as it has been decades of either a Labour or Tory government, “pitched usually pretty much on the centrepiece of politics, the centre ground of politics”.
The PM said Reform and its leader, Mr Farage, provide a “very different proposition” of “patriotic national renewal” under Labour and a “toxic divide”.
He described his Labour government of being “capable of expressing who and what we are as a country accurately and in a way where people feel they’re valued and they belong, and that we can actually move forward together”.
Sir Keir referenced a march down Whitehall two weeks ago, organised by Tommy Robinson, as having “sent shivers through the spines of many communities well away from London”.
Elon Musk appeared via videolink at the rally and said “violence is coming to you”, prompting accusations of inciting violence.
Image: The PM said Reform presents a ‘toxic divide
The prime minister said the choice for voters at the next election, set to be in 2029, “is not going to be the traditional Labour versus Conservative”.
“It’s why I’ve said the Conservative Party is dead,” he added.
“Centre-right parties in many European countries have withered on the vine and the same is happening in this country.”
Reacting to Sir Keir’s comments, a Reform UK spokesman said: “For decades, the British people have been betrayed by both Labour and the Conservatives.
“People have voted election after election for lower taxes and controlled immigration, instead, both parties have done the opposite.
“The public are now waking up to the fact Starmer is just continuing the Tory legacy of high taxes and mass immigration.”