OpenSea CEO: SEC Unfairly Targeted Outstanding Players in Crypto During Biden's Administration

Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO of OpenSea, said the way the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has enforced cryptocurrency companies has left a lasting "regulatory shadow" over the industry.
In an interview, Mr. Finzer said the agency had unfairly targeted good players in the cryptocurrency space, including OpenSea, under Mr. Biden. "There are all kinds of digital assets, and you know, you shouldn't treat them the same. That's obvious. But I think the approach that the Securities Exchange Commission has taken before is a, you know, very, very general approach."
The Securities Exchange Commission issued a Wells Notice to OpenSea in 2024 - a formal notice usually a prelude to enforcement action - accusing the NFT market of operating as an unregistered stock exchange. At the time, Finzer criticized the Securities Exchange Commission for taking an "enforcement regulatory" approach and said OpenSea was ready to "stand up and fight."