Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has responded publicly to america Securities and Change Fee (SEC) lawsuit towards his firm, stating in a tweet that the staff is “assured in our info and the regulation” and that it welcomes the possibility “to lastly get some readability round crypto guidelines” in court docket.
Concerning the SEC grievance towards us immediately, we’re proud to symbolize the trade in court docket to lastly get some readability round crypto guidelines.
Keep in mind:
1. The SEC reviewed our enterprise and allowed us to turn into a public firm in 2021.
2. There is no such thing as a path to “are available in and…— Brian Armstrong ️ (@brian_armstrong) June 6, 2023
The SEC filed swimsuit towards crypto trade Coinbase on June 6, alleging that the corporate has been working a securities trade, broker-dealership and clearing home with out registering with the fee. In its submitting, it argued that 13 totally different cryptocurrencies bought by Coinbase match the definition of securities, together with Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), Filecoin (FIL) and others.
In his Twitter response, Armstrong claimed that the lawsuit towards Coinbase is “very totally different from others on the market,” as it’s “completely targeted on what’s or isn’t a safety.” This makes the staff “assured in our info and the regulation.” He claimed that the U.S. authorities can’t even agree with itself as to which cryptocurrencies are securities, as “the SEC and CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] have made conflicting statements.”
Armstrong expressed hope that court docket proceedings will enable crypto exchanges to “lastly” get readability on adjust to securities legal guidelines. He additionally praised latest makes an attempt by Congress to cross crypto laws, stating that “that is why the US congress is introducing new laws to repair the scenario.”
Associated: Coinbase focused by state safety regulators concurrent to SEC lawsuit
The response from Armstrong is the most recent in a sequence of authorized filings and public statements between the trade and the SEC since March.
Coinbase acquired a Wells discover from the SEC on March 22 stating that the regulator might pursue enforcement actions. In response, the trade issued a press release from its authorized staff on April 19 claiming that the SEC’s potential enforcement was not “supported by regulation or throughout the bounds of the Fee’s authority.”
A Wells discover doesn’t start authorized proceedings. It solely serves to inform a agency of a possible lawsuit.
On April 25, Coinbase’s authorized staff went on the offensive by preemptively submitting swimsuit towards the securities regulator. Within the lawsuit, it alleged that the SEC had failed to supply clear guidelines for crypto exchanges in a well timed method, together with guidelines that distinguish between cryptocurrencies which are or will not be securities. The SEC responded by arguing for dismissal on Could 5, and Coinbase filed a mandamus reply in help of its swimsuit towards the SEC on Could 23.
As a result of Coinbase filed its swimsuit towards the SEC on April 25 and the SEC filed swimsuit towards Coinbase on June 6, each organizations at the moment are embroiled in two separate authorized proceedings towards one another.