U.S. lawmaker Ritchie Torres has written a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, urging the commission to reconsider its regulatory approach in the cryptocurrency industry. Torres’s plea comes in the wake of Judge Analisa Torres’s landmark ruling on June 13, which stated that the programmatic sales of XRP did not fall under the category of securities offerings. However, the judge also ruled that XRP sales to institutional buyers did meet the threshold.
The “Torres Doctrine”
In his letter, Rep. Torres highlighted the significance of Judge Torres’s ruling, stating that it provided much-needed legal clarity amidst the chaos of crypto regulation. He even suggested that the court decision should be referred to as the “Torres Doctrine.” According to Torres, the ruling made it evident that digital assets cannot be classified as securities without an actual security offering, a fact that the SEC must acknowledge.
Criticism of the SEC’s Approach
Torres criticized the SEC for its lack of clear guidance and fair notice to the crypto industry. He pointed out that the Commission’s case against Coinbase has lost its legal foundation in light of the new ruling. Torres accused the SEC of relying on enforcement actions rather than clear rules or guidance, resulting in contradiction, confusion, and arbitrary decisions. He emphasized that this approach goes against the principle of fair notice that the industry deserves.
Call for Focused Enforcement and Reassessment
Rep. Torres called on the SEC to redirect its enforcement efforts towards the bad actors within the crypto industry. He urged the commission to reassess its relentless attack on the industry as a whole, considering the legal clarity provided by Judge Torres’s ruling. By concentrating on the real wrongdoers and providing clear guidelines, the SEC can foster a more favorable environment for the crypto industry to thrive.
In summary, U.S. lawmaker Ritchie Torres has called on the SEC to reconsider its regulatory approach in the cryptocurrency industry following a landmark ruling by Judge Analisa Torres. The ruling clarified that the programmatic sales of XRP are not securities offerings, but XRP sales to institutional buyers meet the threshold. Rep. Torres highlighted the importance of the ruling in bringing legal clarity to the industry and criticized the SEC for its lack of clear guidance and fair notice. He urged the commission to focus its enforcement actions on the bad actors within the crypto industry and reassess its overall stance.
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