Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis has filed an advisory opinion in court supporting Coinbase’s motion to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit.

Cynthia Lummis filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York the so-called “amicus brief” – a document that is usually filed with the court by a party not directly involved in the case. As a rule, these documents are used to indicate arguments in support of one of the parties to the lawsuit. Lummis said that by accusing Coinbase of violating securities laws, the SEC seeks to become the main regulator of the cryptocurrency industry, while this issue is still actively discussed in Congress.

The SEC is enforcing crypto exchanges at the height of the debate about how crypto assets should be regulated in the US and around the world, Lummis said. According to the Constitution, it is Congress, and not the SEC, that should make laws for this area, which is of great economic and political importance.

“The SEC is seeking to expand its powers in relation to the crypto market, although most legislative proposals in Congress imply that these powers should be given to other agencies. Having not satisfied its ambitions, the SEC is trying to bypass the political process in order to appropriate this power for itself,” Lummis said.

In early August, Coinbase filed a motion to dismiss the SEC lawsuit, alleging that the regulator had abused its rights and abandoned its previous interpretation of securities laws. Earlier it became known that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, being a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), did not consider most crypto assets to be securities.

“The SEC’s attempt to cram a new asset class into the existing definition of securities encroaches on Congressional lawmaking and is contrary to the principle of separation of powers. The US Securities and Exchange Commission cannot legislate through enforcement,” Lummis added.

Advocacy groups Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation, Chamber of Progress and Consumer Tech Association also filed a joint application, accusing the SEC of abuse of office. Marisa Tashman, Senior Legal Counsel at the Blockchain Association emphasized:

“The SEC is of the opinion that almost all digital assets traded on the secondary market are investment contracts. But these transactions are not related to current contractual obligations, so the SEC’s position is incorrect.”

Recall that in June, Blockchain Association specialists prepared a detailed report on Gensler’s activities in order to remove him from influencing legal proceedings.