In ‘Thinking Crypto Podcast’ Interview, Partner Hailey Lennon Discusses Crypto Industry’s

Partner Hailey Lennon appeared on the “Thinking
Crypto” podcast to discuss how the crypto industry is
rebounding from bear market collapses post-FTX and fighting back
against regulatory overreach.

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During the March 14 episode, Lennon said over the last six
months or so, the industry has started to heal from the FTX
collapses and various bankruptcies, as well as the numerous
enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC).

“I think the industry’s feeling very excited about the
companies that remain and all of the legitimate crypto projects
that are out there and what we can accomplish,” she said.
“[I]’ve been working in the space for 10 years, and
we’ve definitely matured as an industry. Hopefully the Bitcoin
and crypto industry will always sort of maintain some of its
childlike aspects, just in terms of what we’re trying to change
in the world and questioning the status quo, but as more
traditional financial institutions get into this space, we get a
little more buttoned up and with that comes the shake out of anyone
that’s in the industry for the wrong purposes.”

As the debate continues about how to regulate entities in the
crypto space, Lennon said there isn’t a question as to whether
the SEC can regulate securities and investment contracts. The
argument comes, however, whether there actually were investment
contracts for purchase of these cryptocurrencies with exchanges
like Coinbase and Kraken, she said.

In the case of Kraken – which was charged by the SEC in
November for operating its trading platform as an unregistered
securities exchange, broker, dealer and clearing agency – the
company had eight state attorneys general filed a joint amicus
brief in February supporting the assertion that there needs to be
proof from the SEC of an investment contract. If the SEC cannot
show that proof, then it’s overreach and Congress does not
allow that, according to the brief.

“The abuse of power by a regulator can be very damaging to
any industry, so it’s not something that people should be OK
with,” Lennon said. “[T]he industry deserves some
clarification on how you can have an operational crypto exchange in
the U.S. without risk. It’s kind of a crazy stance for a
regulator to take, to just say ‘you can keep business as usual
and risk it, we’re not going to explain why we’re listing
certain tokens in these complaints.'”

During the episode, Lennon also discussed the SEC lawsuits
against certain cryptocurrencies, whether an Ethereum ETF will be
approved, as well as whether crypto users can sue the SEC and the
government.

The “Thinking Crypto” podcast, hosted by Tony Edward,
shares news about the industry and interviews with crypto and
blockchain founders, CEOs, regulators, politicians and lawyers
involved in building and investing in the market.

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