Gottlieb said crypto companies may try to hold off the SEC using the U.S. Supreme Court’s “major questions doctrine,” which holds that regulators can’t exceed their authority. The high court last used the doctrine in 2022 in a 6-3 decision involving the Environmental Protection Agency on whether it had the authority to issue an emissions cap on greenhouse gases.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said no, and that it was up to Congress to provide EPA with clear authorization for such actions.
“What the Supreme Court has instructed is that administrative agencies, which are a branch of the executive department, are not allowed to take views that will affect major questions of the United States economy,” Gottlieb said.
So when it comes to crypto, “That’s for Congress to set the law, not for the SEC to say ‘we believe the law should be no crypto,’” he added.
Source: Crypto Companies May Use a Supreme Court Doctrine to Push Back Against SEC: Lawyer
