Coinbase responded to SEC claims and warned of reputational risk

American bitcoin exchange Coinbase answered for notification SECdeclaring its readiness to “resolutely defend itself”.

Representatives of the trading platform noted that in 2021, the Commission allowed the company to list Nasdaq, that is, at that moment it did not consider the business illegal.

Coinbase also warned the watchdog that it would likely suffer reputational damage due to its “sharp reversal” if it tried to go after the company.

“The story to be told is the story of the company that […] consistently tried to achieve clarity and comply with the law by voluntarily providing the Commission with data on their activities, only to have this information later used against her in a mysterious attempt to pay off a large part of the business,” Coinbase said.

On March 23, the regulator sent a notice to the exchange about an investigation regarding the listing procedure on the platform and its products – Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Wallet and the staking service Coinbase Earn.

Representatives of the exchange noted that the Coinbase Wallet service is not a brokerage service, and the staking function does not constitute an offer of securities.

“No new rules have been written about digital assets, and yet in [SEC] are taking a path of enforcement that they thought was unavailable a couple of years ago,” the company said.

Coinbase previously went to court to get a response from the Commission to a petition filed in July 2022. In it, the exchange demanded to clarify the regulation of the crypto industry.

Recall that in April, the CEO of the exchange, Brian Armstrong, announced the possible withdrawal of the company from the US market due to a lack of “regulatory clarity”. As an alternative, he named Great Britain.

According to Bloomberg sources, Coinbase has begun consulting with its institutional clients about connecting to the exchange outside the United States.

American bitcoin exchange Coinbase answered for notification SECdeclaring its readiness to “resolutely defend itself”.

Representatives of the trading platform noted that in 2021, the Commission allowed the company to list Nasdaq, that is, at that moment it did not consider the business illegal.

Coinbase also warned the watchdog that it would likely suffer reputational damage due to its “sharp reversal” if it tried to go after the company.

“The story to be told is the story of the company that […] consistently tried to achieve clarity and comply with the law by voluntarily providing the Commission with data on their activities, only to have this information later used against her in a mysterious attempt to pay off a large part of the business,” Coinbase said.

On March 23, the regulator sent a notice to the exchange about an investigation regarding the listing procedure on the platform and its products – Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Wallet and the staking service Coinbase Earn.

Representatives of the exchange noted that the Coinbase Wallet service is not a brokerage service, and the staking function does not constitute an offer of securities.

“No new rules have been written about digital assets, and yet in [SEC] are taking a path of enforcement that they thought was unavailable a couple of years ago,” the company said.

Coinbase previously went to court to get a response from the Commission to a petition filed in July 2022. In it, the exchange demanded to clarify the regulation of the crypto industry.

Recall that in April, the CEO of the exchange, Brian Armstrong, announced the possible withdrawal of the company from the US market due to a lack of “regulatory clarity”. As an alternative, he named Great Britain.

According to Bloomberg sources, Coinbase has begun consulting with its institutional clients about connecting to the exchange outside the United States.