The crypto industry fights regulators in the courts: Law Decoded, Oct. 10–17

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The crypto industry fights regulators in the courts: Law Decoded, Oct. 10–17



Perhaps one of the most captivating signs of the industry’s maturity is the increasing amount of court cases in which crypto companies fight back against perceived regulatory abuses. Last week saw some major advancements in that direction. 

Digital asset manager Grayscale has filed its opening brief against the United States Securities Exchange Commission to challenge its decision denying Grayscale’s application to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). According to Grayscale, the SEC must submit its brief by Nov. 9.

A U.S.-based crypto policy advocacy group, Coin Center has followed through with its intention to take the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC, to court over sanctioning cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash. Lawyers for Coin Center as well as crypto investor David Hoffman, an anonymous human-rights advocate known only as John Doe, and software developer Patrick O’Sullivan filed a joint complaint against the OFAC, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and OFAC Director Andrea Gacki. The complaint alleged that sanctioning Tornado Cash was “unprecedented and unlawful,” in part, due to privacy concerns over crypto transactions.