(Reuters) — Coinbase Global Inc. filed a petition on Monday in an effort to force the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to create new rules for digital assets, the company said in a blog post, in the latest escalation of the cryptocurrency exchange’s tensions with the securities regulator.
Coinbase filed a regulatory filing with the SEC last year urging the regulator to clarify the circumstances under which a digital asset is a security and create a new market structure framework compatible with cryptocurrencies.
The SEC has not responded publicly to that request, prompting Coinbase to file the legal challenge, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said in the blog post.
“Coinbase and other crypto companies face potential regulatory action from the SEC, although we have not been told how the SEC believes the law applies to our business,”
; Grewal said.The petition will be filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
The crypto industry largely believes that it operates in a gray area that is not regulated by existing US securities laws, and that new legislation is needed to regulate the sector.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has said that cryptocurrency companies should comply with existing laws and that new crypto-specific regulations are not necessary.
Coinbase disclosed in March that the company had learned that SEC staff intended to recommend enforcement action against the company. The company said in a blog post at the time that it was willing to fight any future enforcement action in court.
In July, when Coinbase also filed its rulemaking filing, the company disclosed an SEC investigation into its processes for listing assets, staking programs and yield-generating products.
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