Finance
Cryptocurrency payments firm Ripple has started to rack up procedural court victories as it fends off the SEC in a case that could redefine how the agency polices digital assets.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, in Washington. | Bill Clark/Pool via AP
By Sam Sutton
01/29/2022 07:07 AM EST
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In 2021, the SEC went after crypto. In 2022, crypto is coming for the SEC.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has vowed to rein in what he’s dubbed “Wild West” abuses in the $1.6 trillion market. Industry leaders, flush with cash and deep-pocketed investors following a trading boom in Bitcoin and other digital assets, are aiming their lawyers at the sheriff of Wall Street in an intensifying legal fight.
Cryptocurrency payments firm Ripple, the de facto leader of the revolt, has started to rack up procedural court victories as it fends off the SEC in a case that could redefine how the agency polices digital assets. Grayscale Investments, which wants to launch a Bitcoin fund for the masses, tapped the white-shoe law firm Davis Polk to publicly outline a legal case that could be brought against the agency if it obstructs the company’s ambitions. The CEO of another startup, Terraform Labs, sued the SEC after it tried to serve him with a subpoena.
The emerging legal assault, which is being cheered on by crypto-friendly lawmakers who say the agency is overstepping its authority, could limit the SEC’s reach for years to come and remove what many in the industry see as their biggest regulatory obstacle to launching even more virtual currency products.
