OpenSea Asks SEC for Clarity on NFT Marketplace Rules

NFT Marketplace OpenSea asks our supervisors to clarify that it and platforms such as it should not be treated as securities fairs or brokers.

The request comes only a few months after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped a probe in the alleged violation of the federal securities laws by the company.

In one letter Dated on April 9, OpenSea’s General Counsel, Adele Faure and deputy general adviser Laura Brookover drong to SEC commissioner Hester Peirce to give informal guidelines that confirm that NFT marketplaces are not included in the reach of broker-dealer and exchange rules.

“Classifying OpenSea and similar NFT marketplaces such as securities fairs or brokers would be regulatory,” they wrote.

The company argues that it does not meet the legal definition of a grant under American securities laws because it does not perform transactions or acts as an intermediary.

OpenSea describes itself more as a digital bazaar than as a trade floor, “so that people can discover NFTs and make contact with buyers and sellers” instead of facilitating transactions in the traditional sense.

It also pushed back on the broker label and said that it does not provide investment advice, negotiates deals or customer assets for guardianship. In the longer term, the Commission has asked NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea to be released from proposed broker regulations.

The letter follows the SECs decision In February to suspend various high -profile investigations into cryptom companies, including one in OpenSea.

Those decisions came in the midst of a broader policy spivot under Donald Trump who embraced the crypto industry, although skeptics are wondering if the president is simple Try to enrich themselves.

Despite the record-breaking rally from Bitcoin and the growth of the Defi sector, NFTs have remained in the Goldrums in recent years.

In 2024, trade volumes and sales counts drop To their weakest levels since 2020. The annual trade volumes fell by 19%, while sales fell by 18% compared to the previous year.

Published by Sebastian Sinclair