SEC's Upcoming Crypto Roundtable to Feature Uniswap, Coinbase, and Other Industry Giants

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is gearing up for an important roundtable discussion on crypto trading regulations, set to take place on April 11, 2025. Titled "Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading," this roundtable will feature executives from some of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency industry, including Uniswap Labs, Coinbase, and Cumberland DRW. These firms, once under the SEC’s scrutiny, will engage in the discussion on how crypto trading should be regulated in the United States.

Crypto Industry Giants Join the Discussion

The upcoming event is part of the SEC’s broader efforts to engage with the crypto industry and find effective ways to regulate digital assets. Key figures from the crypto world will be represented at the table, including Uniswap Labs Chief Legal Officer Katherine Minarik, Cumberland DRW Associate General Counsel Chelsea Pizzola, and Coinbase Institutional Product Vice President Gregory Tusar. These executives are no strangers to SEC scrutiny; under the Biden administration, the SEC sued Cumberland DRW in October 2023 and Coinbase in June 2023 for alleged violations of securities laws. However, these lawsuits were both dropped earlier this year under the Trump administration. Additionally, Uniswap Labs was investigated in April 2024, though the probe was closed in February without further action.

The panel will also include Jon Herrick, the product chief at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Austin Reid, business lead at crypto brokerage FalconX, and Richard Johnson, CEO of securities tokenization firm Texture Capital. Notably, the roundtable will feature experts from academia and advocacy groups, such as Christine Parlour, Chair of Finance at the University of California, Berkeley, and Dave Lauer, co-founder of We the Investors. Tyler Gellasch, CEO of the Healthy Markets Association, will also contribute to the discussion.

The roundtable will be moderated by Nicholas Losurdo, a partner at the law firm Goodwin Procter, and the SEC will be represented by acting chair Mark Uyeda, Crypto Task Force chief of staff Richard Gabbert, and SEC commissioners Caroline Crenshaw and Hester Peirce.

The SEC’s Efforts Toward Crypto Clarity

This roundtable is the second in a series of five discussions known as the "Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity." The first roundtable, held on March 21, 2025, focused on the legal status of cryptocurrencies, and upcoming discussions will tackle topics such as custody, tokenization, and decentralized finance (DeFi). The goal is to establish clearer rules for crypto trading, addressing the regulatory gray areas that have long existed in the space.

The SEC has taken a more proactive approach under the Biden administration, with the Crypto Task Force leading the charge to provide guidance for the fast-evolving cryptocurrency market. This roundtable is part of that effort, seeking input from key industry players on how the SEC can strike a balance between regulation and fostering innovation.

A Changing Regulatory Landscape

The roundtable also comes at a time when the SEC, under President Donald Trump’s leadership, is working to reshape its oversight of the crypto industry. As part of these changes, the SEC has launched a review of several staff statements related to crypto regulations. Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda announced on April 5, 2025, that he is revisiting statements issued by the SEC’s staff over the past few years to assess which of them should be modified or rescinded.

These statements include the SEC’s 2019 analysis on whether crypto sales could be considered investment contracts under the Howey test, a key argument used in the SEC’s lawsuits against crypto firms. Other statements under review concern risks associated with Bitcoin futures, state-chartered banks acting as custodians for crypto assets, and disclosures related to crypto bankruptcies.

Uyeda emphasized that the review of these statements aims to align the SEC’s policies with current priorities, reflecting the changing landscape of the crypto market and the growing importance of digital assets in the financial ecosystem.

Looking Ahead: Crypto Regulation’s Future

As the SEC continues to evaluate its stance on cryptocurrency, the April 11 roundtable will provide a crucial platform for discussing how best to regulate crypto trading while ensuring market integrity. The participation of major crypto firms, which have previously faced legal challenges from the SEC, underscores the complexity of the regulatory environment and the need for clear guidelines.

The outcome of this roundtable and the broader series of discussions could shape the future of crypto regulation in the US, offering insights into how the SEC plans to navigate the rapidly evolving space and balance innovation with investor protection. With the growing influence of cryptocurrencies, the need for clear and effective regulations has never been more urgent, and the discussions at this roundtable may play a key role in determining the regulatory framework that will govern crypto trading for years to come.