SEC Commissioner: Withdrawing Coinbase lawsuit does not mean SEC abandons enforcement, future regulation will focus on policy-making

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester M. Peirce issued a statement stating that the SEC has officially withdrawn its civil enforcement lawsuit against Coinbase and stated that it will not take further action in this case. Peirce made it clear that she never supported the case and criticized the SEC's previous reliance on enforcement actions to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, arguing that it harmed the interests of the American public, hindered industry development, and impeded the normal functioning of the SEC's professional policy team. Peirce pointed out that the widespread application of the Howey test by the SEC has led to regulatory ambiguity, making it difficult for compliant businesses to operate, while criminals use regulatory ambiguity to evade legal responsibility. In addition, due to the lack of a clear regulatory framework, many cryptocurrency companies are forced to spend a lot of resources on legal responses rather than product innovation. She believes that the SEC's previous practice of formulating policies through enforcement not only misled the industry, but also prevented policy teams from effectively participating in industry rule making. She emphasized that the SEC has established a "Crypto Task Force" to empower policy teams with leadership and collaborate with the public to develop regulatory frameworks applicable to the cryptocurrency industry. The withdrawal of this lawsuit does not mean that the SEC has given up enforcement, but rather indicates that future regulation will focus on policy-making rather than relying solely on enforcement actions.