Crypto titans back clothing firm’s suit against SEC’s ‘unwritten’ rules

As a seasoned analyst with years of experience navigating the complex and ever-evolving landscape of financial regulations, I find myself closely watching this legal battle between crypto firms, organizations, and the SEC unfold.


Cryptocurrency businesses and groups are submitting arguments in favor of a legal dispute between a Texas clothing company, the DeFi Education Fund, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), concerning the SEC’s explanation of digital currencies and their absence of regulations.

Supportive statements were made by cryptocurrency and venture capital firms like Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, Multicoin Capital, Paradigm, Union Square Ventures, and Variant, in a joint filing submitted on October 28th, expressing their backing for Texas-based Beba LLC and the DeFi Education Fund’s legal action.

As an analyst, I argue that overlooking the detrimental effects experienced by firms such as Beba due to the menace of enforcement and the absence of precise regulations is misguided on the SEC’s part.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has strengthened the validity of its warning by launching at least four legal actions claiming that airdrops of digital tokens are considered ‘investment contracts.’ As such, these airdrops are classified as ‘securities transactions.’

The suit, filed in March, sought a preemptive declaration that the SEC cannot enforce its “unwritten policy” that most digital asset transactions are securities. 

The text states that the company’s digital token, BEBA, was given away for free, or airdropped, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classified these distributions as “investment contracts,” which they deemed as a violation of the Securities Act of 1933.

In July, the SEC requested the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that it was filed too soon and based on an imaginary policy. Additionally, they stated that Beba had not established any rule or directive connected to the policy they disputed.

The amicus brief concluded that the plaintiffs have adequately pleaded a “credible threat of enforcement and cognizable harm,” and the SEC arguments to the contrary should be rejected, and its motion to dismiss denied. 

Crypto titans back clothing firm’s suit against SEC’s ‘unwritten’ rules

In their joint filing, both the Texas Blockchain Council and Investor Choice Advocates Network argued that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has persistently enforced rules without providing essential guidance to the public through the rule-making procedure.

On October 22nd, Coin Center – a group focusing on cryptocurrency policy – argued that the DeFi Education Fund, a supporter of Beba, had reasonable grounds for filing a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), due to costs incurred as a result of the SEC’s stance on cryptocurrencies.

If an organization such as the SEC declines to participate in rulemaking or offer a genuine platform for impacted parties to contribute to the regulatory process, and instead prefers to demonstrate its policy decisions through legal battles, it leaves entities like DEF without a political means to voice their issues except through those very courts, they noted.

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2024-10-31 08:46