The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has faced numerous legal challenges, including a court sanction in Utah, during its tenure as chairman. Gary Gensler, who became SEC chairman in 2021, initially aimed to crack down on the crypto industry but quickly showed skepticism towards it.
During his tenure, the SEC filed numerous lawsuits against major players like Coinbase, Binance, and Terraform Labs. While the SEC has won or settled several cases, Gensler’s broader theory that nearly every token except Bitcoin is under his jurisdiction has faced challenges.
Recently, the SEC dropped its investigation into the Paxos-issued, Binance-branded BUSD stablecoin. Notable losses include the SEC’s opposition to spot bitcoin ETFs, Ripple Labs, Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, and D.E.B.T. Box. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP were unregistered securities, contradicting Gensler’s stance that most crypto tokens are securities.
The SEC’s reputation was damaged by the political fight over the repeal of Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, which was criticized by the Government Accountability Office for imposing the rule without proper congressional review. The SEC’s lawsuit against D.E.B.T. Box was marred by false statements, leading to the case being dismissed and the SEC paying $1.8 million in legal fees.
Despite these setbacks, the SEC has secured several recent victories that could shape future policies. Many successful enforcement actions go unnoticed, often because they involve smaller firms.
For instance, the SEC settled three crypto-related cases this year, including those involving Rockwell Capital Management, ShapeShift, and TradeStation. Additionally, the SEC charged 17 individuals in a $300 million Ponzi scheme.
Molly White, author of the crypto-critical Web3IsGoingGreat blog, remarked that the SEC still aggressively pursues crypto-related cases, but not every investigation will lead to enforcement. Bitfinex’d, a pseudonymous critic, likened expecting the SEC to win every case to expecting “traffic cops to shut down gang warfare.”
Recently, the US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla has recommended that Coinbase crypto exchange either abandon or modify its attempts to obtain US SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s personal communications through a subpoena.
