DeFi Education Fund Asks US SEC for More Information on Whether Syndicated Loans Are Securities

Odaily Planet Daily News The DeFi Education Fund (DeFi Education Fund, referred to as DEF) recently submitted an application for more information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act regarding the US SEC's decision not to clarify the classification of syndicated loans as securities. In March 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit asked the SEC for its opinion in Kirschner v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., which concerns the classification of syndicated loans. The SEC has moved three times to extend the filing deadline, initially to April 13, 2023. On July 18, the SEC sent a letter to the court stating that it would not file amicus briefs. In the letter, SEC general counsel Megan Barbero wrote that the agency was "unfortunately unable" to intervene in the matter. Amanda Tuminelli, chief legal officer of DEF, said that for a securities regulator that seems determined to classify almost all encrypted tokens as securities, it is strange not to provide its logic on whether more traditional financial instruments are securities, so the encryption industry needs know the truth. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, federal agencies can be sued if they enforce a rule through enforcement action or otherwise. Coinbase cited the law when it sued the SEC for refusing to create policy for the industry, while DEF also plans to file an APA suit, Tuminelli said. She added: "If the SEC is holding back simply for fear of losing a case in court, it would be unfair to the American investing public, which deserves transparency, and we are determined to get to the bottom of it." Under the Freedom of Information Act, the SEC doesn't have to respond to DEF by a given date, nor does it have to turn over any internal communications or documents. (Blockworks)