Coinbase Criticizes US SEC, Crypto Community Criticizes Coinbase over Insider Trading, and CFTC Chimes In

cryptonews.com:

Major crypto exchange Coinbase criticized the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its lack of regulatory clarity and action, while itself being criticized over insider trading - for which two US regulators charged the exchange’s former employee.

Coinbase announced on Thursday that they have filed a petition asking the SEC to “begin rulemaking on digital asset securities,” stating that the existing rules for securities don’t work for digital assets, as well as that the regulator has been unwilling to make new rules for the crypto sector. This, they argued, has placed investors at risk, citing the funds in XRP lost during the regulator’s court battle with Ripple.

Per the exchange, most digital assets today have characteristics of securities, and most are designed to avoid the securities laws in the US. They stated that,

“Crypto assets that are securities need an updated rulebook to help guide safe and efficient practices. Crypto assets that are not securities need the certainty of being outside those rules. Anything short of that will have the effect of entrenching incumbent technologies at the expense of innovation and ultimately, consumers.”

This came on the same day the SEC made an announcement per which the recently charged individuals “purchased at least 25 crypto assets, at least nine of which were securities.” This has once again prompted numerous questions within the Cryptosphere about regulatory (un)clarity on this issue in the US.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chimed in with a statement by Commissioner Caroline Pham calling for regulatory collaboration, stating that this SEC complaint alleges that “dozens of digital assets, including those that could be described as utility tokens