Coinbase
objected
to
the
SEC’s
$2.6
billion
budget
request
for
the
2025
fiscal
year.
In
a
statement
to
CryptoSlate
on
June
13,
a
Coinbase
representative
said:
“Yet
again
the
SEC
asks
for
more
money
that
will
go
to
regulation
by
enforcement
when
it
has
used
none
of
its
massive
budget
for
real
crypto
rulemaking
that
would
actually
foster
regulatory
clarity.”
The
SEC’s
multi-billion
dollar
budget
request
includes
$812.4
million
allocated
to
enforcement,
up
from
$675.6
million
in
2024.
SEC
chair
Gary
Gensler
said
the
budget
would
increase
the
SEC’s
Divison
of
Enforcement
by
27
full-time
equivalent
(FTE)
positions
to
1,447.
The
expansion
will
allow
the
regulator
to
“investigate
misconduct
on
a
larger
scale”
and
pursue
more
complex
lawsuits.
Coinbase
has
repeatedly
urged
the
SEC
to
reduce
its
enforcement
approach
and
create
workable
regulations,
including
via
rulemaking
petitions
and
attempts
to
force
a
response
in
court.
The
exchange
made
its
closing
statement
on
the
matter
on
May
31,
stating
that
the
SEC’s
changing
position
has
“created
uncertainty
and
confusion”
instead
of
regulatory
clarity.
ASA
calls
for
lower
budget
The
American
Securities
Association
(ASA),
an
independent
trade
association,
separately
urged
the
US
government
to
provide
the
SEC
with
a
lower
budget.
The
firm
wrote
in
a
June
13
letter:
“The
Senate
Appropriations
Committee
should
…
provide
the
[SEC]
Enforcement
Division
with
a
level
of
funding
significantly
below
the
President’s
budget
request.”
The
ASA
said
that
the
Senate
Appropriations
Committee
should
follow
the
House
Appropriations
Committee.
The
latter
committee
suggested
limiting
the
SEC’s
2025
fiscal
year
budget
to
$2
billion
and
setting
the
SEC
Enforcement
Division’s
budget
at
$644
million.
Additionally,
the
ASA
urged
Congress
to
hold
the
SEC
accountable
and
force
it
to
focus
on
investor
protection,
market
order
and
fairness,
and
capital
formation.
The
trade
association
asked
for
a
prohibition
on
certain
SEC
information
collection,
demanded
probes
into
the
regulator’s
operations,
and
asked
for
mandatory
reports.
The
ASA
said:
“This
SEC
has
acted
as
if
the
constraints
of
the
Constitution
and
federal
law
do
not
apply
to
it.”
The
ASA’s
concerns
are
not
primarily
focused
on
crypto.
However,
the
trade
body
asked
for
a
probe
into
a
mishandled
SEC
case
involving
crypto
firm
DEBT
Box
and
urged
Congress
to
have
the
securities
regulator
account
for
the
incident.
Mentioned
in
this
article
Go to Source
Author: Mike Dalton
