SEC Roundtable: Uniswap and Coinbase Executives Among Participants Set to Discuss Crypto Regulations

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled the list of industry leaders who will participate in its upcoming roundtable on cryptocurrency trading regulation, set for April 11.

The event, titled “ Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading ,” marks the second session in a five-part series aimed at shaping the future of digital asset oversight.

Executives from top crypto firms and financial institutions are slated to join the discussion, including Katherine Minarik, Chief Legal Officer at Uniswap Labs; Chelsea Pizzola, Associate General Counsel at Cumberland DRW; and Gregory Tusar, Vice President of Institutional Product at Coinbase.

All Three Firms Previously Targeted by SEC Under Biden Administration

Notably, all three firms have previously faced legal scrutiny from the SEC under the Biden administration.

The agency dropped its lawsuits against Coinbase and Cumberland DRW earlier this year, and a separate investigation into Uniswap Labs closed in February without enforcement action.

The roundtable will also feature representatives from traditional finance and academia, such as Jon Herrick from the New York Stock Exchange, Austin Reid of FalconX, Richard Johnson of Texture Capital, and Christine Parlour, finance chair at the University of California, Berkeley.

Additional participants include Dave Lauer, co-founder of We the Investors, and Tyler Gellasch, CEO of the Healthy Markets Association. The session will be moderated by Nicholas Losurdo, a partner at Goodwin Procter.

Representing the SEC will be Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, Crypto Task Force Chief of Staff Richard Gabbert, and Commissioners Caroline Crenshaw and Hester Peirce.

The session is part of the SEC’s “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity” initiative, following a March 21 discussion on the legal classification of crypto assets.

Upcoming sessions will tackle topics including custody, tokenization, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Trump-Era Shift Signals SEC Reassessment of Crypto Regulation

The SEC’s recent shift in tone under President Donald Trump reflects a broader effort to reevaluate the agency’s approach to digital assets.

Uyeda announced on April 5 that, in line with Trump’s deregulation agenda and guidance from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk, the SEC is reviewing seven staff-issued statements—five of which concern cryptocurrencies.

Among those under review is a 2019 framework from the SEC’s FinHub that assessed when digital asset sales could qualify as investment contracts under the Howey test.

Other documents being reconsidered include statements from the Divisions of Investment Management, Corporation Finance, and Examinations, particularly those addressing risks tied to Bitcoin futures, crypto custody, and industry-wide bankruptcies during 2022.

As reported, the SEC announced new guidelines on April 4 , stating that certain fiat-backed stablecoins will be classified as “non-securities,” thereby exempting them from transaction reporting requirements.

The updated classification marks a pivotal moment in the regulatory landscape for digital assets, offering much-needed clarity for stablecoin issuers and market participants.

According to the SEC notice, stablecoins that qualify as “covered stablecoins” must meet strict criteria: they must be fully backed by physical U.S. dollars or low-risk, short-term liquid instruments, and must be redeemable at a 1:1 ratio with the U.S. dollar.