Coinbase called for the United States Government’s Ethics Office to cancel a rule that prevents dry personnel from holding cryptocurrencies.
In the letters rendered public on April 25, 2025, Coinbase representatives argued that current restrictions are hindering the capacity of the dry to properly regulate digital assets.
Under the legal opinion 22-04, issued by the OGE on July 4, 2022, the SEC employees cannot buy, sell or use cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. The Council justifies the ban on the basis that these digital assets are not classified as “listed securities” and are therefore not eligible for the same exceptions to the shares.
A Coinbase representative said that for the SEC staff to develop effective regulations, practical technology experience is necessary. They added that authorizing them staff to engage with cryptographic assets would provide essential information on the systems for which he is responsible for regulating.
The Crypto Working Group is faced with operational challenges
Coinbase officials also addressed the issue directly with the newly appointed SEC president and the agency’s commissioners, stressing that the restriction has a major obstacle for the working group on the Crypto de la SEC. They noted that although the SEC was ordered by the American president to contribute to a complete regulatory proposal for crypto within 90 days, his staff remains unable to use the technology that they are responsible for assessing.
While the OGE is authority on the cancellation of the opinion, Coinbase suggested that the dry itself could take provisional measures. A proposal included the issuance of derogations to the staff working on questions related to the crypto, which, according to Coinbase, would comply with the measures used in similar advisory contexts.
The representative stressed that the issue of targeted derogations would allow members of the working group and other staff members concerned to engage directly with blockchain technologies, improving their regulatory proposals.
