Regulator Goes After NFT Platform OpenSea

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has made it its mission to target various cryptocurrency platforms, albeit with questionable success so far.

Next on the list is the NFT platform OpenSea, whose CEO went on to X to express the team’s disappointment in the regulator’s move.

Devin Finzer, OpenSea’s chief exec, tweeted that the company he runs is the latest to receive a Wells Notice from the SEC, which indicated that non-fungible tokens available to buy or sell on the platform could be unregistered securities.

“We’re shocked the SEC would make such a sweeping move against creators and artists. But we’re ready to stand up and fight. By targeting NFTs, the SEC would stifle innovation on an even broader scale: hundreds of thousands of online artists and creatives are at risk, and many do not have the resources to defend themselves.”

He described NFTs as “creative goods,” such as art, collectibles, event tickets, and others, which should not fall under the same category as securities like collateralized debt obligations and some crypto assets.

Finzer outlined a few artists that had filed lawsuits against the agency, which, according to him, “describes their fear that the sale of their art and music could be deemed unregistered securities offerings.”

Additionally, OpenSea’s CEO said his team will pledge $5 million to “help cover legal fees for NFT creators and devs that receive a Wells Notice.”

Some of the crypto companies that were targeted by the SEC include Ripple, Coinbase, Binance, Uniswap, Kraken, and Consensys.