US SEC threatens to sue NFT marketplace OpenSea, CEO says
Adds analyst comment in paragraphs 8-9
By Manya Saini
Aug 28 (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has threatened to sue non-fungible tokens marketplace OpenSea, the company's CEO said in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday.
"OpenSea has received a Wells notice from the SEC threatening to sue us because they believe NFTs on our platform are securities," OpenSea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer said.
A Wells notice is a formal declaration that SEC staff intend to recommend an enforcement action.
The SEC does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation, a spokesperson for the securities regulator said in a statement to Reuters.
The SEC and the crypto industry have locked horns in recent years over their divergent views on whether crypto assets classify as securities and should be regulated similarly.
"We're shocked the SEC would make such a sweeping move against creators and artists. But we're ready to stand up and fight," Finzer added.
Crypto companies have accused the regulator of overreach and violating its jurisdiction, while the SEC has alleged the industry is flouting securities laws that are designed to protect investors and other market participants.
"Although NFTs are not normally considered securities I suppose the SEC might be looking at how they were treated and traded and if they had the form or feel of an investment contract," said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and CIO at Running Point Capital Advisors.
"Attitudes towards NFTs were already severely hit in the last crypto crash and are having a hard time rebounding," he added.
Prominent crypto firms, including exchange Coinbase COIN.O and retail trading app Robinhood HOOD.O, have repeatedly called for clearer regulation and new laws.
An NFT is a digital asset that exists on a blockchain, which serves as a public ledger, allowing anyone to verify the asset's authenticity and ownership. NFTs, which became popular in 2017, have a unique digital signature and cannot be reproduced.
Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Maju Samuel
Berita Terbaru
Pengungkapan: Entitas XM Group menyediakan layanan khusus eksekusi dan akses ke Fasilitas Trading Online kami, yang memungkinkan Anda untuk melihat dan/atau menggunakan konten yang tersedia pada atau melalui situs, yang tidak untuk mengubah atau memperluas, serta tidak mengubah atau memperluas hal tersebut. Akses dan penggunaan ini selalu sesuai dengan: (i) Syarat dan Ketentuan; (ii) Peringatan Risiko; dan (iii) Pengungkapan Penuh. Oleh karena itu, konten disediakan hanya sebagai informasi umum. Anda juga harus ketahui bahwa konten Fasilitas Trading Online kami bukan sebagai ajakan atau tawaran untuk untuk melakukan transaksi apa pun di pasar finansial. Trading di pasar finansial mana pun melibatkan tingkat risiko yang signifikan pada modal Anda.
Semua materi yang diterbitkan di Fasilitas Trading Online kami hanya untuk tujuan edukasi/informasi dan tidak boleh mengandung nasihat dan rekomendasi finansial, pajak investasi atau trading, catatan harga trading kami, penawaran, permintaan, transaksi dalam instrumen finansial apa pun atau promo finansial untuk Anda yang tidak diminta.
Konten pihak ketiga apa pun, serta konten yang disiapkan oleh XM, seperti opini, berita, riset, analisis, harga, informasi lain atau link ke situs pihak ketiga yang tersedia "sebagaimana adanya", sebagai komentar pasar umum dan bukan menjadi nasihat investasi. Sejauh konten apa pun ditafsirkan sebagai penelitian investasi, Anda harus memperhatikan dan menerima bahwa konten tersebut tidak dimaksudkan dan belum disiapkan sesuai dengan persyaratan hukum yang dirancang untuk mempromosikan kemandirian riset investasi dan dengan demikian akan dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah hukum dan peraturan yang relevan. Mohon dipastikan bahwa Anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi pada Riset Investasi Non-Independen dan Peringatan Risiko kami mengenai informasi di atas, yang dapat diakses disini.
