Coinbase CEO: Next SEC Chair Should Apologize to Crypto Industry

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes that the next SEC chairman should apologize to the digital asset sector for the agency’s treatment of crypto under Gary Gensler.

In an X post, Armstrong said that the SEC should drop all cases against digital asset trading platforms, including Coinbase and Binance.US.

Gensler’s actions have worried many in the crypto industry, leading to some businesses leaving the US for countries with more crypto-friendly regulations, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), El Salvador, and Hong Kong.

Armstrong stated that an apology from the next SEC chair may not be enough to undo the damage caused by the SEC under Gensler, “but it would begin to restore trust in the SEC.”

Cryptocurrencies and Securities: Contradictory Statements from the SEC

Armstrong also highlighted instances where the SEC contradicted itself when prosecuting digital asset firms. He focused on the issue of whether cryptocurrencies are securities.

Read also: XRP Ledger Activity Spikes as Ripple’s SEC Fight Continues

Gensler and the SEC have repeatedly said that cryptocurrencies are securities because they pass the Howey test. However, in a recent footnote in the XRP lawsuit against Ripple, the agency claimed that cryptocurrencies represent investment contracts and therefore cannot be considered securities.

Coinbase has pressed the SEC to make new rules and a sound framework for the trading and listing of cryptocurrencies in the United States and even filed a rulemaking petition in a court in 2022. As per a Reuters report, the SEC denied the petition in 2023 and in September 2024, Coinbase asked a federal appeals court to overturn that denial.