With the change in the leadership of the United States SEC, a sudden change in the stance over crypto has been observed; earlier, the commission has dropped its lawsuit against Coinbase.
According to an X post by Devin Finzer, the founder of the largest NFT marketplace, the Securities and Exchange Commission of the U.S. has dropped its lawsuit against OpenSea.
The post reads, “ The SEC is closing its investigation into Opensea. This is a win for everyone who is creating and building in our space. Trying to classify NFTs as securities would have been a step backward—one that misinterprets the law and slows innovation.”
OpenSea’s lawsuit dismissal could open a new path for NFTs
The decision of the SEC to drop the lawsuit against OpenSea, the largest known NFT marketplace, has been largely praised by some other known experts, arguing that this decision of the SEC could open new paths for the wider NFT market.
It is worth noting that since Gary Gensler left the SEC, a sudden change in attitude of the commission has been observed, yet to date it has dismissed a few cases, with implementing a hold over a few lawsuits.
In Gensler’s tenure, dozens of crypto-based companies have faced allegations of operating with a proper license and also selling unregistered securities, despite these legal actions, the crypto market continued to grow at a greater pace.
The founder of OpenSea also criticized the previous decisions of the SEC, which classify NFT as a security. Some available information notes that in August of the earlier, the Securities and Exchange Commission of the U.S issued a Wells notice to OpenSea, accusing it of operating a marketplace for sales and purchase of unregistered securities.
Competitors and experts praised the decision of the SEC
Chris Akhavan, the chief business officer of OpenSea’s competitor marketplace, said that in terms of the market, we are a competitor, but the decision of the SEC is appreciable, and it is a victory for the entire industry.
The X post of Akhavan, dated February 22, 2025, notes, “ Great to hear SEC is ending its investigation into @opensea. While we are competitors in the trenches, we deeply believe in NFTs and what they will enable. Happy to see such a win for the space!”
It is worth noting that the NFT market has been in a neutral mode for the last few months, and currently, the NFT market capitalization is $5,507,261,214.
Over the past 24 hours, CryptoPunk remains at the top of the list, followed by Bored Ape Yacht Club, Pudgy Penguins, and Autoglyphs. CryptoPunk#6472 became one of the most pricey NFTs sold in the past 90 days for 225 Ether, and CryptoPunk #8878 was traded for $574,472.
