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Coinbase Disputes SEC Claim That Exchange Lists 9 Crypto Securities – Regulation Bitcoin News
Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase has disputed claims by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that nine of the crypto assets traded on its platform are securities. The company’s legal director stressed: “Coinbase does not list securities. End of story.”
Coinbase insists it does not list crypto-asset securities
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase listed nine crypto-asset securities in a complaint filed on Thursday. The securities regulator accused a former Coinbase employee of “violating the anti-fraud provisions of the securities laws” related to insider trading.
The SEC stated in its complaint that the crypto tokens AMP, RLY, DDX, XYO, RGT, LCX, POWR, DFX and KROM are unregistered securities.
However, Coinbase immediately disputed the SEC’s claim that some coins traded on its platform are crypto-securities. The exchange’s head of legal affairs, Paul Grewal, stressed in a blog post on Thursday: “Coinbase does not list securities on its platform. End of story.”
Grewal detailed:
The SEC claims that nine digital assets involved are securities. The DOJ reviewed the same facts and chose not to file securities fraud charges against those involved.
The Coinbase chief legal officer went on to refer to a statement by Caroline Pham, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), that the SEC’s action is “a striking example of ‘regulation by enforcement’.”
He added:
We agree with Commissioner Pham and disagree 100% with the SEC’s decision to file these securities fraud charges and the substance of the charges themselves.
Grewal claimed that “Coinbase has a rigorous process to analyze and evaluate” each crypto asset before listing and trading on the platform.
“This process includes an analysis of whether the asset can be considered a security, and also takes into account regulatory compliance and information security aspects of the asset,” he described.
The legal chief noted that Coinbase was cooperating with the SEC’s investigation into the former Coinbase employee’s insider trading case. Noting that seven out of nine cryptoassets cited by the SEC in the complaint are listed on the Coinbase platform, he said:
Instead of having a dialogue with us about the seven assets on our platform, the SEC went straight to litigation.
The Coinbase official claimed: “The SEC’s charges shine a spotlight on an important problem: the United States does not have a clear or workable regulatory framework for digital asset securities.”
On Thursday, Coinbase also announced that it has filed a petition with the SEC asking the regulator to “commence regulation of digital asset securities.” The exchange described: “Our petition urges the SEC to develop a workable regulatory framework for digital asset securities governed by formal procedures and a public notice and comment process, rather than through arbitrary enforcement or guidance developed behind closed doors.”
What do you think about Coinbase disputing the SEC’s claim that some crypto tokens traded on its platform are securities? Let us know in the comments section below.
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