The regulator goes after the NFT Platform OpenSea

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has made it its mission to target various cryptocurrency platforms, albeit with questionable success so far.

Next on the list is the NFT platform OpenSea, whose CEO went to X to express his group's dissatisfaction with the regulator's actions.

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer tweeted that the company he runs is the latest to receive a Wells notice from the SEC, which indicates that tokens that cannot be bought or sold on the platform may be unregistered securities.

“We are appalled that the SEC has taken such drastic action against creators and artists. But we are ready to stand up and fight. By targeting NFTs, the SEC stifles innovation on a broad scale: hundreds of thousands of online artists and creators are at risk, and many lack the resources to protect themselves.

He described NFTs as “creative goods” such as art, collectibles, event tickets and more, which should not fall into the same category as securities such as collateralized debt obligations and some crypto assets.

Finzer lists a handful of artists who have filed lawsuits against the agency, citing fears that, he says, “sales of their art and music could be viewed as unregistered collateral.”

In addition, OpenSea's CEO said his team would “pledge $5 million to cover legal fees for NFT creators and Davis who receive Wells' announcement.”

Some of the crypto companies targeted by the SEC include Ripple, Coinbase, Binance, Uniswap, Kraken and Consensys.