Coinbase objected to the SEC’s $2.6 billion budget request for the 2025 fiscal year.
In a statement to CryptoSlate on June 13, a Coinbase representative said:
“Yet again the SEC asks for more money that will go to regulation by enforcement when it has used none of its massive budget for real crypto rulemaking that would actually foster regulatory clarity.”
The SEC’s multi-billion dollar budget request includes $812.4 million allocated to enforcement, up from $675.6 million in 2024.
SEC chair Gary Gensler said the budget would increase the SEC’s Divison of Enforcement by 27 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions to 1,447. The expansion will allow the regulator to “investigate misconduct on a larger scale” and pursue more complex lawsuits.
Coinbase has repeatedly urged the SEC to reduce its enforcement approach and create workable regulations, including via rulemaking petitions and attempts to force a response in court.
The exchange made its closing statement on the matter on May 31, stating that the SEC’s changing position has “created uncertainty and confusion” instead of regulatory clarity.
ASA calls for lower budget
The American Securities Association (ASA), an independent trade association, separately urged the US government to provide the SEC with a lower budget.
The firm wrote in a June 13 letter:
“The Senate Appropriations Committee should … provide the [SEC] Enforcement Division with a level of funding significantly below the President’s budget request.”
The ASA said that the Senate Appropriations Committee should follow the House Appropriations Committee. The latter committee suggested limiting the SEC’s 2025 fiscal year budget to $2 billion and setting the SEC Enforcement Division’s budget at $644 million.
Additionally, the ASA urged Congress to hold the SEC accountable and force it to focus on investor protection, market order and fairness, and capital formation.
The trade association asked for a prohibition on certain SEC information collection, demanded probes into the regulator’s operations, and asked for mandatory reports. The ASA said:
“This SEC has acted as if the constraints of the Constitution and federal law do not apply to it.”
The ASA’s concerns are not primarily focused on crypto. However, the trade body asked for a probe into a mishandled SEC case involving crypto firm DEBT Box and urged Congress to have the securities regulator account for the incident.
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