Coinbase’s Battle with SEC Gives Hope to Crypto Community

In its article “Coinbase squares off with Washington’s top crypto skeptic," the well-known media outlet Politico points out that Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong is ready for the ultimate confrontation with Washington’s top financial cop. 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that is.

The piece says that the SEC went on the full offensive against the crypto domain, targeting Gemini and Kraken. 

Now, it’s eyeing Coinbase as its next prey, alleging that it is unlawfully trading securities.

Coinbase denies this. Additionally, it has filed a lawsuit against the SEC under the leadership of former Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, who is corporate America's go-to SEC challenger.

“The reality is that the law today does not apply to vast swaths of the digital asset market,” Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said Thursday in an interview. “We don’t relish the opportunity to be in court with an important regulator, the SEC." But we will stand up for the rule of law as it currently exists, not just for Coinbase but for the entire industry.”

Grewal adds that it makes little or no sense that the SEC is targeting Coinbase after effectively giving it the green light several years ago.

Politico goes on to note that if the SEC brings charges, it’d have serious consequences not just for Coinbase but for the crypto market’s future in the US.

“Everything is on the line,” said Emily Garnett, a former SEC attorney now a shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.

While the SEC seems ready to go ahead regardless, Politico says that the crypto advocates hope that Coinbase will win the case.  

“It’s always an uphill climb when a regulator brings a lawsuit,” said Marisa Tashman Coppel, policy counsel at the Blockchain Association. “But none of the cases have gone up to the Court of Appeals, and none of them have gone up to the Supreme Court. "So, I am optimistic.”

Previously, GNCrypto reported that Coinbase is preparing for a legal battle.