SEC ends OpenSea probe, weeks after NFT platform confirms SEA token airdrop: Bloomberg

OpenSea said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ended its investigation of the NFT marketplace, according to Bloomberg. Earlier this month, the organization released a beta version of its OS2 platform and confirmed plans for a SEA token airdrop, which will be available to U.S. users.

The move comes shortly after the SEC decided to dismiss its case against Coinbase, which the exchange announced on Friday morning. The back-to-back announcements on Friday suggest the SEC may pull back from a number of its ongoing crypto-related investigations and lawsuits.

In August, OpenSea received a "Wells notice," a formal letter sent by the securities watchdog indicating that it is considering taking enforcement action against a firm and offering an opportunity to respond.

It now appears the agency — which acted aggressively in an attempt to reign in the crypto industry under former Chairman Gary Gensler — is now working to reset its stance towards crypto under a new, pro-crypto presidential administration. Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda has tasked fellow Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce, who was an often dissenting voice against SEC enforcement actions taken against crypto firms and protocols — with leading a "crypto task force" that will develop new industry guidelines. 

Peirce's task force has reportedly been engaging with a number of firms previously targeted by the SEC, and has also taken meetings with firms to discuss niche issues like approving "staking ETFs" to trade. Throughout Gensler's tenure, the agency sent Wells notices to a number of centralized and decentralized platforms including Robinhood and Uniswap, respectively.

Like many of the SEC's former policies, airdrops existed in a gray zone. In September, for instance, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Patrick McHenry (NC-10) and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (MN-06) sent a letter to the SEC seeking clarity on the classification of crypto airdrops arguing, in part, the regulatory uncertainty harmed U.S. investors who were often cut off from distributions.

According to the announcement, the SEC confirmed that it doesn't recommend an enforcement action against OpenSea, which was told last year that the non-fungible tokens listed on the platform were unregistered securities. At the time, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer called the action “a sweeping move against creators and artists” and that he was “ready to stand up and fight.”

This is not the first time the agency has dropped an investigation. Last year, for instance, it ended a probe of stablecoin issuer Paxos' dollar-backed BUSD stablecoin. Consensys, the Ethereum development studio, also said the SEC agreed to drop an investigation of "Ethereum 2.0," an outdated term for the network's switch to proof-of-stake.