Digital asset legal expert Jake Chervinsky is of the opinion that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is dedicating an excessive amount of resources to regulating the cryptocurrency industry. Chervinsky, who serves as the chief legal officer at crypto fund Variant, criticized the SEC for recently issuing a Wells Notice to Robinhood’s crypto trading division. A Wells Notice is a warning sent by the SEC to indicate its intention to pursue legal action against a company. Chervinsky argues that the SEC is misusing its authority. He expressed astonishment at the number of Wells Notices sent out by the SEC regarding crypto in recent months, questioning the regulator’s ability to handle such a large number of enforcement actions simultaneously. He suggests that the SEC may be using the Wells process as a scare tactic. Chervinsky believes that the SEC’s allocation of resources to crypto is disproportionate, considering that its primary mandate is to regulate equity and debt markets. He argues that every minute and taxpayer dollar spent on crypto is a diversion from the SEC’s true mission as established by Congress. In the past, the SEC has sent Wells Notices to Uniswap Labs and has filed lawsuits against Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, accusing them of securities law violations.
