{"id":24087,"date":"2025-04-28T06:31:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T06:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=24087"},"modified":"2025-04-28T06:31:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T06:31:36","slug":"coinbase-presses-to-axe-rule-banning-sec-staff-from-holding-crypto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=24087","title":{"rendered":"Coinbase presses to axe rule banning SEC staff from holding crypto"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Coinbase<\/p>\n

Coinbase has urged the US Office of Government Ethics to remove a rule banning Securities and Exchange Commission staff from holding crypto.<\/p>\n

SEC staff need to use crypto to better understand how it works and the best way to regulate it, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal argued<\/a> in open letters sent to OGE acting director Jamieson Greer and newly sworn-in SEC Chair Paul Atkins<\/a>, which he shared to X on April 25.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo regulate technology, you need to understand it. To understand technology, you need to use it,\u201d Grewal said in the letter to Greer.<\/p>\n

\u201cPermitting commission staff to hold crypto is essential to them developing the knowledge necessary to propose and adopt workable regulatory frameworks for digital securities activity,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"SEC,
Source: <\/em>Paul Grewal<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Legal Advisory 22-04, issued<\/a> on July 4, 2022, by the OGE, prohibits SEC staff from buying, selling, or otherwise using crypto and stablecoins because they are not \u201cpublicly traded securities\u201d and don\u2019t qualify for an exception, unlike stocks. <\/p>\n

SEC needs waivers for staff\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Grewal said US President Donald Trump<\/a> directed the SEC and other agencies to submit recommendations for crypto regulations due in around 90 days, and SEC \u201cstaff still cannot use the technology on which they are making recommendations.\u201d<\/p>\n

He echoed a similar sentiment in his letter to Atkins and crypto-friendly SEC commissioner Hester Peirce, arguing being unable to hold crypto is a roadblock for the agency\u2019s Crypto Task Force<\/a> in creating a regulatory framework.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SEC,
Source: <\/em>Paul Grewal<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While it\u2019s up to OGE to rescind the advisory, the SEC should take its own action, Grewal said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, issuing waivers to crypto task force members and other staff actively working on task force matters would be consistent with measures already taken in commensurate advisory situations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>Coinbase files FOIA to see how much the SEC\u2019s \u2018war on crypto\u2019 cost<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Grewal added that a waiver would allow SEC staff on the Crypto Task Force responsible for creating crypto regulations to use crypto and \u201cevaluate the underlying digital asset technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who took office in 2021, was known for his hardline stance on crypto regulation. He resigned on Jan. 20<\/a> after spearheading an aggressive regulatory stance toward crypto<\/a>, bringing upward of 100 regulatory actions against firms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following Gensler\u2019s exit, the SEC opted out of a swathe of lawsuits against crypto firms, including Coinbase, on Feb. 27 and, in a more recent April 24 walkback, flagged plans to drop its enforcement against<\/a> blockchain firm Dragonchain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Magazine: <\/strong><\/em>Bitcoin $100K hopes on ice, SBF\u2019s mysterious prison move: Hodler\u2019s Digest, April 20 \u2013 26<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n