Daniel Stabile Speaks with The National Law Journal About the Consent Judgement in SEC v. Wahi Case

Winston & Strawn Partner and Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Group Co-Chair Daniel Stabile spoke with The National Law Journal about the recent settlement in the SEC v. Wahi case in which former Coinbase employees Ishan and Nikhil Wahi were accused of purchasing and selling crypto assets for profit. Daniel stated that the civil judgment was a win for the industry.

“The fact the SEC was willing to settle the matter without any admission related to trading securities from the Wahi brothers is a tacit omission that this wasn’t a battle they wanted to fight,” Stabile said.  

In February 2023, a Winston & Strawn team filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Chamber of Digital Commerce in the Wahi dispute, which argued that the SEC was improperly “regulating by enforcement” by asserting civil claims amidst great regulatory uncertainty, encouraging Congress to act.  

While the consent judgment resolves the dispute, Daniel noted that it will put more pressure on the courts in other digital asset disputes, including SEC v. Ripple Labs in the Southern District of New York and Grayscale v. SEC at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. 

“When those decisions drop, there’s going to be a tremendous amount of attention placed on them,” said Stabile.

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