Cryptocurrency Industry Targets SEC in a Vendetta

The cryptocurrency industry is reportedly targeting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in what insiders call an “Italian vendetta” regarding its overly aggressive regulations during the Biden administration.

According to a new report from Politico, significant players in the crypto industry, including executives from Ripple, Coinbase, and Gemini, have begun taking action against SEC officials as revenge for the agency’s alleged past wrongdoings.

A former SEC employee, granted anonymity due to fears of retaliation from the industry, revealed instances where law firms opted not to engage with the SEC over their work in crypto. In another case, a firm completely rescinded an offer due to similar concerns.

In response, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stated:

> “People have a right to earn a living. They have a right to take their talents wherever they want to take them… But we, too, have a right to decide who we’ll work with.”

William McLucas, a former enforcement director at the SEC, commented on the attacks from the crypto industry:

> “You’re penalizing people who were basically doing their jobs. If they want to rail about the prior commission and its leadership, go ahead. But singling out lawyers and saying, ‘We want their names out there, we want them labeled as pariahs’ — I’ve never seen anything like it.”

An anonymous industry official remarked:

> “Where’s the goddamn off-ramp? You got Gary Gensler’s scalp. There’s not that many other people you can go after. It’s an Italian vendetta, and I don’t know what to do. Because in most vendettas, nobody actually wins. Everybody keeps dying.”

This backlash arises as the Republican-led SEC starts reversing enforcement actions initiated under former Chair Gary Gensler, with critics arguing that his “regulation by enforcement” strategy impeded innovation in the crypto sector.

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