Regulatory Review of OpenSea Comes to an End
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally concluded its investigation into the well-known NFT marketplace OpenSea. This move follows OpenSea’s announcement of a beta version of its OS2 platform and the confirmation of the impending SEA token airdrop, which will be available to users in the United States.
Change in the SEC’s Position on Crypto
The action comes after the SEC recently decided to drop its complaint against Coinbase, which was made public on Friday morning. These successive events suggest that the agency may be changing how it handles investigations and legal actions pertaining to cryptocurrency.
OpenSea Received a Wells Notice in August
The SEC sent OpenSea a Wells notice in August, indicating that enforcement action might be forthcoming. OpenSea was given a chance to reply to the notice prior to any official charges being brought.
New Direction and Pro-Crypto Leadership
The SEC has pursued regulatory actions against the cryptocurrency sector under former Chairman Gary Gensler. The present administration, however, is adopting a different strategy under Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda. Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce has been named by Uyeda to head a new “crypto task force” that would create updated industry standards. Peirce has been an outspoken critic of the SEC’s prior enforcement-focused approach to cryptocurrency.
Interaction with Crypto Companies
According to reports, Peirce’s task force has started talking to a number of businesses that the SEC had previously targeted. New financial products as staking exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are taken into account in these negotiations. The SEC sent Wells notifications to decentralised and centralised services, such as Uniswap and Robinhood, during Gensler’s time there.
Uncertainty in Regulations Concerning Airdrops
Airdrops of cryptocurrency have long been a grey area in terms of regulations. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry wrote to the SEC in September, asking for more precise rules on airdrop classifications. Since U.S. investors were frequently denied access to airdropped tokens, they contended that the absence of legislative certainty had a detrimental effect on them.
The SEC affirms that OpenSea will not face any enforcement action.
OpenSea will not face enforcement action from the SEC, the agency has officially announced. The platform was previously charged with selling unregistered securities via its NFT listings. Devin Finzer, the CEO of OpenSea, vehemently disagreed with the allegations, referring to the case as “a sweeping action against creators and artists” and promising to fight the charges.
Additional SEC Investigations Dropped
The SEC has previously backed off from a probe pertaining to cryptocurrency. The agency concluded its investigation into Paxos’ BUSD stablecoin last year. Consensys, a company that develops Ethereum, also declared that the SEC has withdrawn its inquiry into “Ethereum 2.0,” the phrase that was previously used to describe Ethereum’s switch to proof-of-stake.
The crypto business might experience a major regulatory change as a result of the SEC’s recent rulings, which might open the door for more innovation and transparency.
