Harsh criticism of the SEC: Ryan Selkis, Messari's CEO, declares battle to the American financial regulator via X (formerly Twitter) with an "Independence Statement." It followed with sharp criticism.

GM.

I've declared independence from the SEC and its corrupt Chair Gary Gensler.

In the months ahead, Messari will be operationalizing a war against this illegitimate and corrupt agency.

The draft below will be polished, improved, then sent to the SEC and Congress.

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/okVWKMhDSz
— Ryan Selkis (d/acc) 🇺🇸 (@twobitidiot) July 7, 2024

He calls the authority "corrupt, ineffective and meaningless." And further, "We now consider the SEC an enemy."

This decision came after years of research and interaction with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

They are not suited to monitor and regulate crypto markets. Private actors can do this better, such as data providers and investigative journalists. They want to confront the SEC about their misconduct in courts, in Congress and in the media. The Declaration of Independence will soon be sent to the Senate.

The SEC is known as highly controversial in the crypto industry, especially their chairman, Gary Gensler. The authority and Gensler are accused of waging a campaign against crypto in the US.

The SEC has sued numerous companies, from foundations to crypto exchanges. By now, almost the entire industry has been affected.

Some suspect political opportunism: Gensler would like to become Treasury Secretary under Biden and wants to show as much strength as possible before then.

Crypto analyst Adam Cochran recently called Gary Gensler a "regulatory terrorist." According to him, the only way to fight back is against complaints.

More and more companies in the industry are taking that path. Coinbase and Consensys, the company behind MetaMask, recently sued the SEC.

Many in the industry hope that the era of SEC regulation of crypto will come to an end with a victory of Donald Trump. However, not everyone believes in Trump's promises.