Welcome back to The Breakdown with me, NLW.

It's a daily podcast on Macro, Bitcoin, and the Big Picture Power Shifts remaking our world.

What's going on, guys? It is Tuesday, August 13th. And today we are once again talking about

fights between the SEC and the crypto industry. Before we get into that, however, if you are

enjoying the breakdown, please go subscribe to it, give it a rating, give it a review, or if you want to dive

deeper into the conversation, come join us on the Breakers Discord. You can find a link in the show

notes or go to bit.ly slash breakdown pod. Well Coinbase have renewed their objections to an SEC rule proposal that would

massively expand the definition of an exchange, they claim the rule irrationally assumes

that decentralized exchanges can register and comply in a similar way to traditional exchanges.

The rule was first proposed in January 2022 and has had a long and

contentious journey since. The first iteration of the rule attempted to capture any platform

that could be used to communicate trading intentions. It didn't mention Defi specifically,

but it was broad enough to capture messaging platforms like Telegram and the Bloomberg

Terminal Network where OTC deals are arranged. The implication was that basically every

communications platform would need to come in

and register as an alternative trading system. On their second pass, the SEC admitted the rule was

partially aimed at Dex's. However, they failed to articulate how squeezing this new form of trading

platform into existing regulations would work. The rule is now on its fourth round of public comments.

The SEC has received hundreds of comment letters from lawmakers,

the crypto industry, and trad-5 firms. In their third letter on this rulemaking, Coinbase suggested

it's time to withdraw the rule and start over with a proper cost-benefit analysis. They note

the SEC has failed to provide a definition of crypto asset securities, which would be the only

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