A big piece of good news for OpenSea is that the SEC decided not to continue investigating right away when the platform announced its token launch after years of operation.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ended its investigation into OpenSea. This decision was made shortly after OpenSea launched the beta version of OS2 and announced plans to airdrop the SEA token, in which American users can also participate.
The move suggests that the SEC may be adjusting its approach to crypto, especially since the agency has also recently withdrawn its lawsuit against Coinbase.
Previously, in August 2024, the SEC sent a Wells notice to OpenSea, warning that the platform could be considered an unregistered securities exchange. However, it seems that the new administration in the US is changing its stance on the crypto industry, which is different from the time under Gary Gensler, who had a strategy of tightening control over the industry.
Currently, Interim Chairman Mark T. Uyeda has tasked Hester Peirce, an SEC commissioner with a pro-crypto stance, to create a crypto task force to build a new set of guidelines for the industry.
According to the report, Peirce has been proactive in working with companies that have been investigated by the SEC, while also considering issues such as ETF staking approvals. Previously, during the Gensler era, the SEC sent Wells notices to a series of centralized and decentralized platforms such as Robinhood and Uniswap, causing many projects to stall.
Ji Kim, president of the Crypto Council for Innovation in the US welcomed the SEC's latest move. Source: Cointelegraph.
Similar to many other SEC policies, crypto airdrops have been placed in the legal gray area because there is no clear definition of legality. In September 2024, Patrick McHenry, Chairman of the US House Financial Services Committee, along with Tom Emmer, sent a letter asking the SEC to clarify the regulation of airdrops, arguing that this lack of transparency has been detrimental to US investors, who are regularly excluded from token distributions.
In its latest announcement, the SEC confirmed that it does not intend to take any legal action against OpenSea, despite the platform's previous alleged listing of unregistered securities as NFTs. At that time, Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea, voiced his fierce opposition, saying that this was a blow to the artist and creator community and declared his readiness to confront the SEC if necessary.
This is not the first time the SEC has withdrawn an investigation. Previously, last year, the agency also closed its investigation into Paxos' BUSD stablecoin, and abandoned plans to investigate Ethereum 2.0, a term previously used to refer to Ethereum's transition to a proof-of-stake mechanism.
Opensea's market share grew sharply after the project announced the SEA token. Source: TheBlock.
These moves coincide with OpenSea, the leading NFT trading platform, introducing a beta version of a new platform called OS2. In addition, OpenSea has revealed plans to issue a native token called SEA. This token aims to reward loyal users and promote the growth of the OpenSea ecosystem.
According to information from the OpenSea Foundation, SEA tokens will be distributed through an airdrop program, in which American users are also eligible to participate.
