Crypto community on OpenSea Wells Notice: ‘Welcome to the club’

Multiple pro-crypto voices weighed in against the Wells Notice issued to NFT Market OpenSea on Aug. 28, as the SEC’s sweeping crackdown advanced unchecked.

OpenSea was named next on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s chopping block barely a week after Democratic candidate Kamala Harris was reportedly opening up to embracing friendly crypto policies.

The SEC’s Wells Notice suggests OpenSea might be sued for breaking federal securities laws by facilitating non-fungible token or digital collectible sales via its on-chain trading shop.

OpenSea launched in 2017 and gained traction in 2020/2021 during the NFT boom. Many likened the digital art collections on the NFT marketplace to Baseball and Pokemon trading cards but with web3-inspired art issued on decentralized networks like Ethereum (ETH).

SEC are clowns taking the idiotic stance that digital art magically transforms into a security when it’s put on a blockchain.

Hayden Adams, Uniswap CEO

While OpenSea committed to a $5 million legal relief package for creators, MonkeDAO lawyer Ariel Givner pacified fears of direct litigation against individual artists. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong expressed a bullish outlook on crypto operators scrutinized by the SEC.

The industry’s chorus condemned the move as another “regulation by enforcement” play from the SEC, under chair Gary Gensler, who, according to multiple pro-crypto figures, should be sacked.  Speculators also emphasized that OpenSea’s Wells Notice was published less than a day after former President Donald Trump released his fourth NFT collection.

The news did little to benefit Harris’ odds on Polymarket, as Trump took the lead by 1%. Wagers on who wins the 2024 Presidential Election remain a coin toss on the Polygon-based predictions market. News of yet another SEC crackdown on crypto may strain the already tense relations between a possible Harris presidency and an industry that has spent $119 million on lobbying in 2024.