United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has renewed its call to compel the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to respond to the company’s petition to create rules on crypto, using the regulator’s recent enforcement action against Kraken to back up its claims.
In a Nov. 22 filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, lawyers representing Coinbase filed a response to a Nov. 21 letter from the SEC saying it planned to provide a status report on the crypto rulemaking petition by Dec. 15. Coinbase filed its petition in July 2022, requesting the SEC “propose and adopt rules to govern the regulation of securities that are offered and traded via digitally native methods,” with subsequent responses suggesting delays.
“[O]nly an order by this Court will make the Commission act,” said the letter. “Although the agency’s fear of a court ruling spurred it to do something, its proffer of another ‘report’ — as it continues to hedge and delay — confirms that only mandamus will impel the Commission to fully, finally acknowledge that Coinbase’s petition for rulemaking was pocket-vetoed long ago.”
We just filed a short response to yesterday’s SEC’s “update” on our petition for rulemaking. We are grateful for the Third Circuit’s attention to this matter. pic.twitter.com/TOFfn0wWYu
Coinbase cited the SEC’s enforcement action against Kraken filed on Nov. 20, in which the commission alleged the crypto exchange commingled customer funds and failed to register as a securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency. The letter did not reference a Nov. 21 settlement of civil and criminal cases against major crypto exchange Binance, which did not include its ongoing case with the SEC.
“The Kraken action was necessarily approved by the Commission and […] is further evidence that the Commission sees no need for regulatory Clarity.”
The push for rulemaking came as reports suggest the SEC may be nearing a decision on a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund for listing on U.S. markets. An approval would likely be one of the most significant positive trends toward mainstream crypto adoption.
In the days after his appointment, one of the managers of Mr Trump‘s presidential election campaign, Chris LaCivita, described him as an “absolute moron”.
In 2019, Lord Mandelson told an Italian newspaper Mr Trump is “little short of a white nationalist and racist”.
But Mr Farage says he is willing to use his connections with Team Trump in the national interest to help foster good US-UK relations – despite his political differences with Sir Keir’s government.
He told the Daily Telegraph: “I am no fan of any of the people in the Labour Party, but if it is in the national interest I have always thought I could be a useful asset if they want to use that – but if they don’t, more fool them.”
The Reform UK MP said he could help with talks on trade, tariffs, intelligence-sharing and countering terrorism because “a lot of the members of the president’s cabinet are friends of mine, and many of them long-term friends”.
“I know these people, and in terms of trade, in terms of defence and in terms of intelligence, the US is our most important relationship in the world – forget Brussels,” he said.
Mr Farage first met Mr Trump after the Brexit vote in 2016 – and the pair claim to have been friends ever since.
The Clacton-on-Sea MP was seen at several Republican campaign events in the run-up to the 5 November US election.
But he told the Telegraph he fears the government may be “so split… they might not want to take up my offer”.
On appointing the former New Labour minister, Sir Keir Starmer said: “The United States is one of our most important allies and as we move into a new chapter in our friendship, Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength.”
The regulation is set for implementation on Feb. 25, 2025, allowing the country’s crypto service providers to halt “risky” crypto transactions with insufficient user information.