Airdrop Army

Crypto.com didn’t wait to play defense this time. They just straight up sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after getting hit with a Wells notice. The SEC thinks some of their tokens are unregistered securities, but Crypto.com ain’t buying it. They’re firing back in court, claiming the SEC is just making stuff up to expand its reach over crypto.

The Wells notice warns that legal action’s coming, but Crypto.com decided to be first to pull the trigger, filing suit before the SEC could act. The exchange argues the SEC is overstepping, inventing new terms like “Crypto Asset Security” out of thin air to snatch up jurisdiction it doesn’t really have.

SEC Targeting Popular Tokens, Crypto.com Pushes Back

The SEC’s real beef is with certain tokens like Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Binance Coin (BNB), and a handful of others. According to them, these tokens are securities, which means Crypto.com has been illegally selling them. But Crypto.com doesn’t see it that way.

In fact, they argue these tokens work exactly like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are already considered commodities, not securities, by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). So, in Crypto.com’s view, the SEC is just stepping on CFTC’s toes, trying to regulate stuff that isn’t even under their umbrella.

Crypto.com’s lawsuit asks the court to shut down the SEC’s “Crypto Asset Security” nonsense and to block them from going after the company.

Crypto.com Asks Court to Set the Record Straight

Crypto.com’s lawsuit is more than just a fight for their own survival. They’re aiming to clear up the whole mess around who should be regulating what in the crypto world. Through their Derivatives North America (CDNA) division, they’ve filed a petition with the CFTC and the SEC. They want these agencies to figure out once and for all who’s got authority over certain digital assets.

But the SEC under Chair Gary Gensler has been all gas, no brakes when it comes to cracking down on crypto. Other big exchanges like Coinbase, Ripple, and Uniswap have already felt the heat from the SEC. Now, it’s Crypto.com’s turn to face the music.