Attorneys general from 18 states filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Nov. 14, alleging that the regulator has overstepped its authority to crack down on cryptocurrency.
The lawsuit, which the states filed in collaboration with research and advocacy group DeFi Education Fund, named the SEC, its chairman Gary Gensler, and five commissioners as defendants.
The lawsuit accused the SEC of engaging in an “unlawful campaign of regulatory overreach” and interfering with state sovereignty in regulating the digital asset industry, which now has a market value of $3 trillion.
It said that states have exercised their authority to establish regulatory frameworks to promote the industry and protect consumers and that Congress has declined to grant federal agencies regulatory power over digital assets but that the SEC has disregarded this allocation of authority….