Crypto firms spend $400M battling SEC as Gensler faces growing criticism

The Blockchain Association, a prominent crypto advocacy organization, revealed that its member companies have collectively spent over $400 million in costs to address enforcement actions launched by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler.

In a statement released on Thursday (Oct. 31), the Blockchain Association stressed that the SEC, under Gensler’s leadership, has initiated 104 enforcement actions against participants in the crypto industry. The actions have reportedly forced industry members to spend an estimated $426 million on legal defenses to counter these regulatory challenges.

The Blockchain Association noted that these expenses were self-reported by its members and reflect only a portion of the industry’s total costs. The association’s membership includes major players like Ripple, Coinbase, Grayscale, Crypto.com, Paradigm, and Kraken—many of whom are still embroiled in ongoing legal disputes with the SEC.

Beyond financial strain, the association also claims that the SEC’s aggressive stance has also resulted in substantial job losses, hindered innovation, and diminished investment within the United States.

1/ Hundreds of millions of dollars.

That’s what Chair Gensler’s anti-innovation crypto crusade cost just a small slice of the industry, along with an immeasurable loss of jobs, innovation, and U.S. tech investment.https://t.co/83HYJBbXfv

— Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn) October 31, 2024

Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith criticized the agency’s enforcement-led approach, saying: “The SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement approach is harming the United States’s global tech leadership – and failing the American investor the SEC is mandated to protect.”

She added: “We will continue to fight on behalf of our members – in Washington, through legal action, and in the court of public opinion – to ensure the United States becomes a place where the full potential of crypto and blockchain technology can be realized. That begins with a change of leadership at the SEC.”

1/ Today, in partnership with @HarrisXData, we’re launching https://t.co/veWlqlVBgW to publicize Chair Gensler’s regulation-by-enforcement approach to our industry. https://t.co/tn5EKN9YkW

A stunning figure: Our industry has wasted more than 400 million dollars defending…

— Kristin Smith (@KMSmithDC) October 31, 2024

Crypto regulation seen as misguided

In an October survey of 1,717 voters conducted with HarrisX, the association also found a broad sentiment that the U.S. approach to crypto regulation is misguided. Two-thirds favored clear rules over enforcement actions, preferring the SEC to wait for Congressional guidance. Voters were split on which party best supports innovation.

Proud to have partnered with @BlockchainAssn and @DevTechSys to provide the policy research and analysis that went into the launch https://t.co/E7GaAgWuS2 — an important public policy resource for future technology industry regulators and their watchdogs in Congress.

Our data… https://t.co/THZN6y82OS

— HarrisX (@HarrisXdata) October 31, 2024

HarrisX’s Chief Commercial Officer Alex Chizhik added, “The data are clear: Crypto owners and the crypto industry are not against regulation. They are against being singled out by a regulator aiming to score political points.

“They are against innovation being stiffed at the expense of American jobs and the future strength of the industry. Our analysis of the SEC’s action clearly shows undue penalties and an undue focus on this specific industry.”

Criticism of SEC chair Gensler’s crypto stance grows

Earlier this month, ReadWrite reported that SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda called the agency’s crypto regulation approach a “disaster,” while Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong made an impassioned criticism of the body, calling for widespread changes at the government agency.

Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has also said he would dismiss Gensler on his first day in office.

ReadWrite has reached out to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for comment.

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