Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com confirmed on Tuesday that it has received a Wells notice issued by staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), stating that the exchange has filed a lawsuit against the regulatory agency.
Crypto.com stated that the lawsuit is intended to "protect the future of the U.S. crypto industry, joining a number of peers in actively defending itself and taking action against a federal agency that has overstepped its legal authority and acted improperly."
Crypto.com claims that the SEC has unilaterally expanded its jurisdiction beyond the limits set by law and has additionally created an illegal rule that deems nearly all cryptocurrency transactions as securities transactions, regardless of how they are sold. The exchange asserts that this rule has never gone through the notice and comment procedures required by the Administrative Procedure Act.
Furthermore, Crypto.com's derivatives company Crypto.com | Derivatives North America has submitted a petition to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the SEC, requesting a joint interpretation confirming that certain cryptocurrency derivatives are only regulated by the CFTC.