Paul Grewal, the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of the San Fransisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has fired back on the USA Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) claims regarding crypto sanctions.
Coinbase CLO Refutes US GAO’s Claims
The Coinbase CLO took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) hours ago to express his displeasure with the US GAO’s report on crypto sanctions. Grewal slammed the federal government agency for an absence of comprehensive evaluation of the report and its conclusions.
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GAO’s report brought up concerns regarding the utilization of cryptocurrencies to get around US economic sanctions. It also included examples of how foreign governments facing US sanctions have gotten across the intended effects of economic penalties through using crypto assets just like Bitcoin (BTC).
Throughout the X post, Grewal questioned why there have been not any general analyses or comparative investigations specified by the report. He further claimed that the GAO was going after a sector of the economy that invests tens of tens of millions of dollars and abides by the law.
The post read:
Zero comparative evaluation performed. Heck, zero evaluation by any means was performed. In its place, they harangue an industry that spends tens of tens of millions and tens of tens of millions to follow the law. Ask yourself— why?.
Throughout the post, the CLO of Coinbase also advised the crypto community to carefully examine the report’s contents. He has noted hidden remarks that suggest crypto isn’t a reliable technique to avoid sanctions despite what was stated inside the report.
“And yet even on this missive, buried deep inside the links behind the clickbait, are admissions that digital assets are a moderately poor strategy to avoid sanctions,” he said. This demonstrates that the GAO is uncertain of its position, showing that the crypto sector cannot bear the entire blame.
Furthermore, Grewal has also voiced concerns with reference to the GAO’s research being funded by taxpayers’s money. Based on him, taxpayers seeing their money being spent on such “shoddy work” could possibly be “embarrassing.”
“This will likely be merely embarrassing for taxpayers but for the incontrovertible incontrovertible fact that taxpayers have funded this shoddy work,” he stated. In addition to, the Coinbase chief asserted that that’s “the smell of the people’s money burning.”
Paul Grewal Fights Back Against The SEC’s Overreach
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) previously claimed that it has authority over all investment contracts. Nevertheless, the Coinbase chief has refuted such claims, noting that the SEC lacked a precise definition of an investment contract despite its claims.
He stated that the SEC’s stance is ambiguous since the legal battle between Coinbase and the agency intensifies. Based on him, Congress, not the SEC, have to be chargeable for establishing such boundaries and casting doubt on the regulator’s regulatory power.
Grewal has highlighted a transparent stance for Coinbase as he said that the exchange “doesn’t offer securities.” He has also demonstrated confidence of their legal dispute with the SEC and expects a call that will provide “much-needed clarity to the industry.”
To date, the Coinbase CLO has expressed gratitude to the Court for its precise consideration while allowing the firm to present its case.
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