OpenSea CEO says crypto firms were unfairly targeted by SEC

Devin Finzer, CEO and co-founder of OpenSea, criticised the SEC’s enforcement approach under the Biden administration, saying it unfairly targeted legitimate crypto firms like OpenSea.

Finzer said the agency used a generic regulatory framework unsuited for the complexity of digital assets.

OpenSea received a Wells notice from the SEC in 2024, alleging it operated as an unregistered securities exchange.

At the time, Finzer accused the SEC of engaging in “regulation by enforcement” and indicated the company would challenge the claims.

With Paul Atkins now serving as SEC Chair under the Trump administration, Finzer expressed hope for a more balanced regulatory strategy.

“Good crypto regulation needs to balance, sort of, protecting consumers but also preserving the ability to innovate. It’s not just a one-size-fits-all problem,” he stated.

Since Atkins took office, the SEC has dropped several high-profile cases, including those against Coinbase, Kraken, Yuga Labs, OpenSea, Uniswap (CRYPTO:UNI), and Ripple (CRYPTO:XRP).

The shift comes as crypto political action committees contributed over $119 million to pro-crypto candidates during the 2024 US election.

Finzer said the SEC crackdown after the 2022 FTX (CRYPTO:FTT) collapse negatively impacted the crypto market and sectors like NFTs.

NFT trading volumes have dropped steeply from their 2021 highs, leading OpenSea to lay off half of its workforce in 2023.

Despite this, Finzer said innovation in NFTs is ongoing, particularly in areas like gaming and art collectibles.

He added that OpenSea is evolving into a broader on-chain trading platform.

“For the first time in the history of the internet, people have the ability to own digital stuff... you can move them around between different applications and take them with you wherever you go on the internet,” Finzer emphasised, highlighting the importance of digital ownership.