SEC's OpenSea Notice: Industry criticizes ”outrageous claims”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wealth Notice to NFT marketplace OpenSea, which was criticized by cryptocurrency industry insiders.
On the 28th (local time), OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer announced that the SEC had sent the platform a Wells Notice, a warning against potential enforcement action.
Ji Kim, Chief Legal and Policy Officer of the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), said:
Kim said, "The SEC's argument that NFT platforms need to be regulated as securities exchanges is legally flawed.
"Not only are these claims flawed, they are completely unreasonable," he said. In 2023, the SEC sued an entertainment company for conducting unregistered securities sales through NFTs.
At the time, SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce expressed concern, noting that the agency "needs to clarify whether these tokens qualify as securities."
Katherine Minarik, chief legal officer at Uniswap Labs, said, "If NFTs are securities, then all collectibles are securities."
"That is clearly contrary to the law," he emphasized. Finzer promised to "fight if the SEC pursues enforcement action" and will file a lawsuit against NFT creators and developers in similar situations.
It added that it would provide $5 million in support for legal costs.