- Last year, Hoddle Law's lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was dismissed on several grounds, including a failure to prove a direct dispute between the company and the commission.
- The latest report reveals that the law firm is appealing the dismissal decision at oral argument scheduled for July 18, 2024.
Over the years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stepped up attacks on the cryptocurrency ecosystem, bringing Ripple Labs, Coinbase, Binance, and others under the law's purview. However, many institutions and key players within the ecosystem have taken serious notice of this exercise with Hoddle Law, a law firm that prides itself on focusing on “digital asset and cryptocurrency legal services.” He voiced strong opposition and described the commission as having “spent years of litigation.” Expanding regulatory scope for cryptocurrencies through “long and deliberate delays and obfuscation.”
Background to the rejection of the previous claim
Hoddle Law argued in its lawsuit that the strategy employed by the SEC did not give token holders fair notice of the status of their coins' securities. The law firm further cited a lawsuit involving former Coinbase employee Ishan Wahi, saying that the SEC's refusal to provide specific guidance has resulted in millions of people, including law firms, of Ethereum users have claimed that they are constantly being asked for a declaratory judgment that Ethereum is not a security. .
However, the SEC argued in its dismissal brief that the law firm lacked constitutional standing because there was no actual case between it and the commission. It also blatantly stated that the court did not have jurisdiction under the Declaratory Judgment Act. To them, the Hoddle Act's so-called concerns about future enforcement actions were purely speculative.
According to the brief, their concerns lacked the concrete harm required for legal standing, and the hypothetical risks associated with a potential investigation did not justify litigation. The agency also argued that the law firm could not assert a valid complaint under the Administrative Procedure Act because there was no final judgment to contest.
As a result, the court decided last year to dismiss the case on the grounds that it could not prove a direct dispute between the Hoddle Act itself and the SEC. The decision was also based on the rationale that the company could not challenge the agency's approach. In the end, the SEC took no concrete action against the company.
Hoddle Law challenges termination decision, Consensus sues SEC
Interestingly, the law firm is appealing this dismissal, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled oral argument for July 18, 2024.
As a result, ConsenSys also filed a lawsuit against the SEC for alleged regulatory overreach. Similar to the Hoddle Act position, ConsenSys believes the SEC is reversing its previous position that Ethereum is a commodity rather than a security. In their case, ConsenSys received a Wells Notice from the SEC suggesting potential actions related to MetaMask's swap and staking features.
According to them, Ethereum has no central control that defines security. This is consistent with recent statements from Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, who criticized Coinbase for classifying certain cryptocurrencies as securities, contradicting previous admissions. are doing.
At the time of writing, Ethereum was trading at $3,000, but has since fallen. 2% within the last 24 hours and 12.8% In the last 30 days.
