The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency platform Gemini, and Gemini recently filed a rebuttal brief in an effort to get the complaint dismissed.
According to the lawsuit, “Gemini Earn,” a function that lets users lend out cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which is presently worth $26,088, to Genesis, violated securities laws by providing unregistered securities.
Gemini asserts that the SEC’s allegation is confusing in light of court documents from August 18 that were filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The brief highlights how “Section 5 of the Securities Act is straightforward,” implying that the SEC hasn’t specifically stated the requirements for charging a violation of the law.
The SEC’s indecision on identifying the specific security in question further highlights the frailty of its stance.
It further argued that rather than diving into the “complex arguments” put out by the SEC, the court should ask straightforward questions to determine if the object is a security.
It prompted inquiries like: When did the alleged security sale take place? Who bought it? How was it sold? What was the asking or selling price?
Gemini argued that before anything else, the SEC should first pinpoint the unregistered security and subsequently identify the sale or proposition to sell it. According to Gemini, the SEC hasn’t done so.
“The SEC hasn’t satisfied this requirement, and its counter-arguments sidestep the main issue the court is facing,” read the document.
Related: As per the SEC, 68 cryptocurrencies now qualify as securities.
On May 27, in a court document, Gemini posited that actions within the Gemini Earn scheme were essentially loans and asked the SEC to drop the charges.
On August 19, Jack Baugham, co-founder of JFB Legal representing Gemini, commented on X (previously known as Twitter), insinuating that the SEC’s stance in the lawsuit is evolving over time.