Crypto Council Files New Amicus Brief Supporting Coinbase’s Legal Battle With SEC

cryptonews.com:

The Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) has filed an amicus brief on March 18 in support of Coinbase challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denial of its rulemaking petition.

In December 2023, the SEC denied Coinbase’s petition for rulemaking. Coinbase has argued that the SEC has acted arbitrarily.

An amicus curiae are briefs written by individuals or groups who are not directly involved in a legal case. The brief is a written submission to a court in which an amicus curiae – literally a “friend of the court” a person or organization which is not party to the proceedings can set out legal arguments and recommendations in a given case.

The CCI is made up of members spanning the crypto ecosystem and share the goal of encouraging responsible global regulation.

“The SEC’s pursuit of its flawed interpretation of securities laws through regulation by enforcement while refusing to engage in rulemaking is a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and will continue to cause significant harm to the digital assets industry,” said Ji Kim, General Counsel and Head of Global Policy of the Crypto Council for Innovation, in an emailed statement.

“As further detailed in our amicus brief, the SEC has attempted to enshrine an arbitrary and baseless enforcement policy without giving interested parties an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the rules the SEC now claims governs their actions,” adds Kim.

In March, Coinbase filed a lawsuit against the SEC seeking a court directive for the regulatory authority to establish clear guidelines for the cryptocurrency sector.

In the lawsuit detailed in their March 11 court submission, Coinbase challenged the SEC’s lack of formal rulemaking for the crypto sector, asserting