SEC Commissioner says agency’s approach to crypto has been a “disaster for the whole industry”

• SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda said the agency hasn’t provided guidance on securities laws
• His comments come as Crypto.com sues the SEC for overreaching its regulatory authority over crypto after receiving a Wells notice

A US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner has said that the agency’s approach to crypto has been a “disaster for the whole industry.”

Speaking on Fox Business Mornings with Maria, Mark Uyeda, commissioner of the SEC, said: “I think our policies and our approach over the last several years have been just really a disaster for the whole industry.”

Uyeda added: “What has gone on is part of a broader frustration with the fact that we have not provided interpretive guidance as to what you can and cannot do and if you are involved in some sort of securities offering, how you register, how you get regulated as a broker-dealer, how you get registered as an exchange.”

His comments come after Crypto.com sued the SEC for overreaching its regulatory authority over crypto in response to a Wells notice the exchange received.

More recently, the SEC sued market maker Cumberland for acting as an unregistered securities dealer. Cumberland is reported to have violated securities laws by buying and selling more than $2 billion worth of crypto assets since March 2018.

Crypto exchange Coinbase has also launched its legal offense against the SEC, requesting documents from the agency as to how it determines crypto regulation. However, last month, the regulator sought an extension to February 2025 for it to provide documents in its case against Coinbase.

Ripple Labs is also not backing down against the regulator after filing a notice of cross-appeal in an ongoing battle going back to 2020.

When asked what the SEC could do differently, Uyeda said there is a “need to lay out some clear guidance and interpretations on what exactly falls within and falls outside of the securities laws.”

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has said he’d be interested in becoming the chair of the SEC if Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the next President of the White House.