McDermott And Chamber of Digital Commerce File Amicus Brief In SEC V. Coinbase

McDermott Will & Emery filed an amicus brief, in partnership with the Chamber of Digital Commerce, in SEC v. Coinbase, seeking to dismiss the case and put an end to the SEC’s most recent attempt to regulate the digital asset industry by aggressive enforcement actions as opposed to clear guidance, laws, or regulations.

The amicus brief includes the following arguments:

• The SEC’s continued aggressive enforcement posture towards digital asset companies is inappropriately stifling innovation across the U.S. digital asset industry.
• The SEC’s action against Coinbase is particularly problematic in light of the fact that both chambers of Congress are considering legislation that would specify and constrain the SEC’s regulatory authority over digital assets.
• Congress has not conferred the authority to the SEC to regulate digital assets themselves as securities. Enforcement actions that suggest otherwise raise constitutional concerns regarding separation of powers and due process, putting the digital assets industry and its stakeholders at risk.

Joseph Evans, Co-Chair of the FinTech & Blockchain Practice and Head of Crypto Litigation and Regulatory Defense at McDermott said, “The SEC has failed the digital asset industry by refusing to work cooperatively through the provision of prospective guidance. Rather, the SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement campaign disserves the millions of law-abiding individuals that use digital assets and the professionals that work in the industry.”

The McDermott lawyers leading the drafting, reviewing and filing of the brief included Joseph Evans, Paul Hughes, Alexandra Scheibe, Andrew Lyonsberg, Patrick Kennedy, Emmett Witkovsky-Eldred and Brianna Perez.

Read the amicus brief.

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