A day after suing crypto giant Binance

 

A day after suing crypto giant Binance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, accusing the largest U.S. crypto exchange of violating securities law by failing to register with the agency.  The SEC's action confirms its view that most crypto products are securities and should comply with U.S. laws. Chair Gary Gensler is now actively pursuing jurisdiction over the crypto markets, which he referred to as a "Wild West" of investing, arguing that they undermine trust and overall capital markets. In its complaint filed Tuesday in NY federal court, the SEC alleges that Coincase, since at least 2019, has generated billions of dollars as a middleman in crypto transactions without complying with disclosure requirements aimed at protecting investors. The SEC alleges that Coinbase facilitated the sale of 13 crypto assets, including Solana, Polygon, and Cardano, that should be registered as securities. According to the civil complaint, Coinbase's primary brokerage, exchange, and staking programs are in violation of securities laws. In response, Coinbase General Counsel Paul Grewal made the case that clear rules are needed for the digital asset industry rather than the SEC's "enforcement-only approach," which is hurting economic competitiveness in the U.S. Coinbase, established in 2012, has claimed over 108 million customers and held $130B worth of customer crypto assets and funds as of March.