The Chamber of Digital Commerce (TDC) has accused the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of systematically blocking registered investment companies from gaining legal exposure to Bitcoin and digital assets. In a new report titled Beyond Merit, the organization claims the SEC’s Division of Investment Management has overstepped its authority and acted as a “merit regulator.”
Chamber of Digital Commerce Calls Out SEC
“The SEC’s historical bias against digital assets led it into the ‘unbounded, dangerous territory of merit regulation,’ as SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce warned against in 2020,” the Chamber wrote in a statement on X. The report alleges that this regulatory stance has stifled innovation and disadvantaged investors by preventing them from accessing crypto investments through traditional investment vehicles.
TDC CEO Perianne Boring further linked the SEC’s actions to what she called “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” suggesting that the agency’s Division of Investment Management has deliberately worked to exclude digital assets from regulated financial products. “Staff in the Division of Investment Management have systematically blocked registered investment companies from investing in digital assets—a clear overreach beyond their authority,” Boring stated.
She argued that the broader crackdown on crypto is part of a coordinated effort across the U.S. government to limit access to digital assets. “The war on crypto isn’t just about banks shutting down accounts of legal businesses. It’s an all-of-government effort to choke off access to digital assets,” Boring wrote, framing the issue as one that impacts financial freedom and economic empowerment.
The report comes at a time of leadership transition at the SEC, and TDC sees this as an opportunity for change. “With new SEC leadership, there is a clear willingness to reset course and address prior inherent bias against the digital asset industry,” the organization stated. TDC hopes its findings will help “identify and rectify this unfair bias at every level of the SEC.”
The SEC has yet to respond to the report’s allegations.
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