Senator Lummis Throws Her Hat in the Ring, Backing Coinbase in their Tiff with the SEC!

Ah, the drama in the world of crypto! The ever-vocal and crypto-champion, Senator Cynthia Lummis, is raising eyebrows again. She’s taken a stand and believes the SEC is trying to pull a fast one. Sounds like they’re trying to dance around the political tango and crown themselves as the top dog in the crypto kingdom. And Senator Lummis? Well, she’s not having any of that!

You see, on August 11th, the Senator did something pretty bold. She tossed an “amicus brief” into the ring. What’s that, you ask? Think of it as a friend of the court kind of thing—a memo, if you will, by someone not directly in the fight, but who has got some strong feelings and words of wisdom to share.

Senator Cynthia Lummis (R. WY) just filed an Amicus Brief supporting @Coinbase's motion to dismiss the SEC's complaint.@SenLummis is Co-Sponsor of the Lummis-Gillibrand crypto regulation bill.

Sen. Lummis' brief argues that:

1. Congress has not granted the SEC authority to…

— MetaLawMan (@MetaLawMan) August 11, 2023

This wasn’t just your ordinary filing, though. Senator Lummis was clear as day: this SEC move isn’t business as usual. She’s convinced the SEC is trying to sneak in through the back door, hoping to grab the reins on the crypto world. And she’s calling them out for trying to muscle in when Congress and other bigwigs are still scratching their heads, figuring out the lay of the land.

Look, the Constitution has given Congress the green light to call the shots in this buzzing crypto arena. Not the SEC. But the SEC? They’re itching to leap over everyone else, cutting corners and trying to take charge. The Senator put it bluntly: “They’re trying to sidestep democracy and grab the spotlight.”

Hold onto your hats, because just a week earlier, on Aug. 4, Coinbase said, “Enough’s enough!” They told the SEC to back off, accusing them of jumping the gun and twisting the rulebook to suit their whims.

But wait, there’s more. Senator Lummis didn’t stop there. She’s fired up, claiming the SEC is acting like a bull in a china shop, wanting to tag every crypto coin as a “security.” It’s like they’re making up rules as they go along! She says, “You can’t make up laws on the fly, SEC.”

But here’s the kicker: Senator Lummis isn’t the lone ranger in this saga. On that same day, a bunch of big crypto groups – like the Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation – joined the chorus, singing the same tune.

1/ @BlockchainAssn and @crypto_council filed a brief with @ProgressChamber and @CTATech supporting @coinbase against the SEC.

We explain why the major questions doctrine precludes @SECGov from enforcing their interpretation of "investment contract." 🧵https://t.co/3JohzZK2lW pic.twitter.com/SrghLHpfmA

— Marisa Tashman Coppel (@MTCoppel) August 11, 2023

Marisa Tashman, one of the big guns from the Blockchain Association, took to X (kinda like the new-age Twitter) and echoed the Senator. She warned, “The SEC’s playing with fire here. This wasn’t what Congress had in mind.” She’s sure the SEC’s got it all wrong, adding, “You can’t just slap a label on these digital goodies and call it a day.”

Whew! With the plot thickening, all eyes are now on this high-stakes crypto showdown. Only time will tell how this dance will end. Stay tuned!