ChainCatcher reported that according to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, 18 states in the United States have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its commissioners, accusing them of unconstitutional excessive intervention and unfair "persecution" of the crypto industry under the leadership of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
The lawsuit, signed by 18 Republican U.S. state attorneys general, details how the agency has engaged in “gross government overreach” in a $3 trillion industry through enforcement actions and infringed on states’ authority to regulate their economies.
18 Republican state attorneys general in the United States asked the court to declare that "digital asset transactions are not investment contracts" and to issue an order to prevent the SEC from bringing charges in the future against "digital asset platforms that fail to register as securities exchanges, dealers, brokers or clearing agencies." According to the complaint, many states have already developed their own regulatory frameworks for the crypto industry and encouraged industry development.
According to Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, Nebraska and Kentucky are jointly leading an 18-state coalition to challenge the Biden-Harris administration's illegal and extensive regulation of cryptocurrencies. In a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, the state attorneys general and other parties accused the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of exceeding its authority.
Despite previous actions and public statements by the SEC and its chairman, the agency has launched a regulatory offensive against crypto companies, exceeding the authority granted by Congress by attempting to classify cryptocurrencies as investment contracts, making them subject to SEC regulation.
In addition to Nebraska and Kentucky, participating states include Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.