The Securities and Exchange Commission has denied a petition from crypto exchange Coinbase asking the regulator to put in place new rules specifically for the digital asset sector.
Coinbase filed the petition last July, asking that the SEC "propose and adopt rules to govern the regulation of securities that are offered and traded via digitally native methods".
In a 3-2 vote, the commission has denied the petition, stating that it disagrees that the current regime is "unworkable" for crypto securities.
SEC chair Gary Gensler says: "The existing securities regime appropriately governs crypto asset securities."
Since Coinbase filed its petition, the firm has been sued by the SEC for operating its crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
Republican Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda voted to back the Coinbase petition, saying in a joint statement that it "raises issues presented by new technologies and other innovation".