In court, Wahi’s lawyers have argued that these tokens are not securities, and therefore he cannot be charged for securities fraud.
The Blockchain Association, a Washington-based crypto lobbying organization, is seeking to advance that argument by saying that the SEC is engaging in “absentee enforcement” as the token creators are not linked to the case, nor, by statute, can they intervene or be otherwise heard.
“Such behavior is improper for a government agency, and is irreconcilable with due process concerns,” the docket reads. “The SEC’s motive, then, is merely to backdoor a precedent that can be used in other cases, as, indeed, it is already doing in other cases where the DOJ has brought an action, and the SEC has piled on with similar allegations of securities laws violations against absent third parties.”
Source: Blockchain Association Files Amicus Brief in Coinbase Insider Trading Case