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SEC Crypto Crackdown Adds Urgency for U.S. Lawmakers to Produce Regulatory Framework This Year: JPMorgan
Without a more solid legal framework, cryptocurrency activity will probably continue moving outside the U.S. and into decentralized entities, the report said.
Updated Jun 12, 2023, 7:00 p.m. Published Jun 12, 2023, 10:01 a.m.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase highlight the need for U.S. lawmakers to come up with “a comprehensive framework on how to regulate the crypto industries and the relative responsibilities of SEC vs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),” JPMorgan (JPM) said in a Thursday research report.
The SEC thinks most cryptocurrencies should be classed as securities, and therefore, most crypto companies and trading should fall under its supervision and comply with regulatory frameworks that are currently applied to other securities, the report said.
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This isn't a “straightforward legal case,” and it is unclear which cryptocurrencies would be classified as securities, analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote. The SEC vs Ripple case is a reflection of this lack of legal clarity.
The regulator said last week it was suing Binance, Binance founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and the operating company for Binance.US on allegations of violating federal securities laws. A day later it sued rival exchange Coinbase (COIN) on similar charges.
The moves are “creating more urgency for U.S. lawmakers to come up with a comprehensive regulatory framework by this year,” JPMorgan said.
Until this happens, crypto activity will likely continue to move outside the U.S. and into decentralized entities. Crypto venture capital funding will also likely remain subdued, the bank said.
If the SEC’s stance is confirmed by lawmakers, Coinbase, Binance.US and other U.S. exchanges would have to register as brokers and most cryptocurrencies would be treated as securities, the note said.
While this could be more “onerous and costly” for the industry, it would bring some positives because crypto markets would be properly regulated and offer more transparency and investor protection, the note said.
Last week’s SEC actions has created uncertainty about a number of other layer 1 tokens that are alleged to be securities, creating an advantage for bitcoin and ether , the bank said.
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What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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Crypto CEOs Join U.S. CFTC's Innovation Council to Steer Market Developments
The chief executives of firms such as Gemini and Kraken will pitch in on U.S. policy efforts through the council's future, public discussions.
What to know:
- In her final days atop the agency, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline Pham announced her CEO Innovation Council, replete with crypto executives.
- The names include the chief executives from Gemini, Kraken, Polymarket, Bitnomial and several others.
- The CFTC is expected to get its permanent chairman very soon when the Senate votes on the confirmation of Mike Selig, President Donald Trump's nominee.
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