Top SEC crypto lawyer leaves to join pro-crypto firm, regulator facing new lawsuit

A key member of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) honest team, Ladan Stewart,  stepped down from her purpose at the agency to affix a talented-crypto law firm, Bloomberg Legislation reported on Feb. 21.

Stewart, who served as Regional Trial Counsel in the SEC’s Crypto Resources and Cyber Unit since September 2022, has joined White & Case as a partner to avoid losing a crypto and cyber protection notice.

In a issue to Bloomberg, she acknowledged:

“Crypto is here to cease — that’s change into very certain with the originate of a slew of Bitcoin alternate-traded funds… Given the complexity and the turbulent enforcement area, honest questions surrounding crypto are going to be at the forefront for a while.”

Stewart joined the SEC in 2015 and turned into half of the SEC lawyer team in the regulator’s case against Ripple, which alive to the securities reputation of the connected XRP token.

Stewart also led the SEC’s ongoing lawsuit against Coinbase, and up to date honest filings new that she will withdraw from that case.

In holding with the chronicle, Stewart’s new law firm has represented various excessive-profile purchasers, along with Microsoft, GoldenTree Asset Management, and the pharmaceutical company Abbvie Inc.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas well-known in other areas that White & Case informed Fidelity because it created its reputation Bitcoin ETF (FBTC), which acquired approval in January. The law firm turned into also inquisitive about Celsius’ now-total financial fracture case.

White & Case member Joel Cohen praised Stewart and acknowledged her skills is “a valuable asset given the heightened regulatory scrutiny of the crypto enterprise in contemporary years.”

SEC going thru a brand new lawsuit

It’s miles unclear whether or now not this negate helps the conception that the SEC’s skill to protect a watch on by enforcement is weakening. The news comes months after a November 2023 chronicle suggesting that the SEC struggles to rent crypto experts, partly resulting from its prohibition on holding crypto.

Meanwhile, the regulator faces a up to date lawsuit filed in Texas by crypto company Lejilex and the Crypto Freedom Alliance of Texas (CFAT). The lawsuit accuses the SEC of exceeding its authority in regulating digital belongings, Reuters reported on Feb. 21.

Lejilex goals to originate a crypto alternate and disputes the SEC’s classification of digital tokens as securities, a stance that conflicts with the SEC’s actions against prominent exchanges admire Coinbase and Binance.

The plaintiffs snort the SEC’s interpretation of digital belongings as “investment contracts” and recommend for the appliance of the “major questions” doctrine, which restricts valuable regulatory actions with out explicit Congressional authorization.