The crypto community has long been expressing its frustration with the tough action by the Americans Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Instead of offering clarity to the industry, it is taking a hard line, and this policy has been all too prominent in the crypto news this week. As the regulator has opened hunting season by taking Binance and Coinbase to court and labeling a huge list of crypto as securities, the crypto community is banding together.
Symbolic Coinbase NFT
On Monday, the financial regulator sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) for allegedly violating federal securities laws, and the next day it was Coinbase’s turn. In addition, the SEC has labeled a whopping 61 cryptocurrencies as securities, raising concerns for many to a new level. In the United States, securities may only be issued with the approval of the SEC.
Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano (ADA), recently indicated that he believes this is the perfect time for the crypto sector to join forces and come together.
Since Monday morning, many people from the community have been minting Coinbase’s previously released non-fungible token (NFT) on the Zora platform to express their support for the industry.
Coinbase launched this one in April ‘Stand With Crypto NFT’ symbolizing the crypto community’s desire for regulatory clarity and commitment to the industry despite the legal challenges.
The launch relates to a so-called open edition mint meaning there is no limit on the number of NFTs available. It is therefore free to mint and all mint fees associated with the collection will be donated to support crypto advocacy efforts.
There are already at the time of writing over 140 thousand NFTs minted and the accompanying shield emoji is widely shared on Twitter. NFT holders are also called upon to display a shield emoji in their username in solidarity with the movement.
Coinbase demands clarity
At the end of April you could already read that the listed crypto exchange had taken the SEC to court to get clarity about their policy. About a year ago, it had already sent a petition to the SEC asking the regulator about simple questions to clarify crypto legislation.
The US court now gives the SEC seven days to complete the petition or to explain why it cannot or will not do so.
