Coin Center: “The US SEC should establish clear rules before issuing case-by-case exemptions”

Coin Center, a US crypto policy think tank, urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to prioritize establishing clear rules rather than responding on a case-by-case basis.

According to Cointelegraph on the 18th (local time), Coin Center said in a letter to the SEC that “case-by-case exemptive relief may provide short-term clarity, but it can lead to market fragmentation and imbalances,” adding that it should “prioritize rulemaking whenever possible.”

Coin Center specifically pointed out that a regulatory approach relying on no-action letters increases uncertainty across the industry. A no-action letter is a type of carve-out in which a regulator confirms in advance that it will not take enforcement action against a particular company or project.

Coin Center stressed that “such selective exemptions could work in favor of certain projects with resources,” and “ultimately risk undermining regulatory fairness.”

It added that “the intrinsic value of crypto networks lies not in services operated by a specific company, but in their public-good character.”

In fact, the SEC and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have recently continued to issue no-action letters for individual projects. Most recently, measures were taken to defer sanctions related to alleged registration violations by the crypto wallet service Phantom.

The SEC has also continued its case-by-case approach, including issuing no-action letters on DePIN projects and matters related to crypto custody.

Coin Center said this approach fails to provide consistent standards across the market. The letter stated that “when exemptions are granted selectively, regulators end up creating an environment that favors certain networks or intermediaries.”

Meanwhile, the SEC has moved to refine the regulatory framework, including releasing an interpretation clarifying the scope of non-security crypto assets and signing a memorandum of understanding to strengthen regulatory cooperation with the CFTC.

In the US Congress, the “CLARITY Act” to clarify crypto regulation is under discussion, and the regulatory direction is expected to become more concrete depending on whether legislation moves forward.