In his recent conversation with Financial Times, Brian Armstrong, the CEO of oinbase">Coinbase, revealed that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had directed oinbase">Coinbase to cease the trade of all the 200 cryptocurrencies listed on the platform, except for Bitcoin, prior to filing a legal action against the exchange in early June 2023.
According to the oinbase">Coinbase CEO, the SEC claimed that all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin should be classified as securities, indicating the regulator’s attempt to assert control over a wider portion of the market. In their lawsuit, the SEC specifically identified 13 low-volume digital assets on oinbase">Coinbase as securities, arguing that offering them to customers would subject the exchange to SEC oversight. Armstrong stated that the SEC instructed oinbase">Coinbase to delist all assets except for Bitcoin without providing a clear explanation for their interpretation of the law.
Armstrong further emphasized that complying with the SEC’s demands could have established an unfavorable precedent, potentially rendering a significant number of US cryptocurrency businesses non-compliant with the law unless they registered with the Commission. This suggests that the SEC was attempting to pressure oinbase">Coinbase, but the exchange remained steadfast in its refusal to concede easily.
oinbase">Coinbase recently submitted a petition to dismiss all accusations lodged against it by the US SEC. While oinbase">Coinbase confirmed that it did not register with the SEC as a broker, the firm denies trading any cryptocurrency securities. Furthermore, oinbase">Coinbase challenges the SEC’s jurisdiction over investors and opposes the concept that legal or regulatory requirements necessitate functional segregation. The Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, conveys a willingness to engage in discussions with regulatory bodies and proposes new legislation and regulations for the future.
