The US Court of Appeals has questioned the adequacy of the SEC's reasons for dismissing Coinbase's crypto regulation petition

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reviewed the Securities Exchange Commission's (SEC) decision to dismiss Coinbase's crypto rulemaking petition, questioning that its reasoning was too limited. In July 2022, Coinbase had asked the SEC to propose and adopt regulatory rules for "securities offered and traded through digital native methods," including clarifying which crypto assets are securities.
The SEC rejected the petition in late 2023, prompting Coinbase to apply to the Court of Appeal to compel the SEC to respond. Judge Thomas Ambro said the SEC did not need to explain in detail the reasons for the dismissal, but that the record should contain substance. He called the SEC's dismissal order "almost empty." Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said on social media that the SEC "refuses to provide a reasonable explanation for its simple dismissal, while using its alleged power to arbitrarily enforce the law against our industry."