Coinbase executives spoke about the company’s ongoing conflict with the U.S. Securities Exchange (SEC) in a new video April 27th.
Coinbase does not list any securities.the situation has not changed
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said in response to the SEC’s recent Wells Notice:
“[The SEC] Having reached a tentative determination that aspects of our core business violate securities laws, I would like to be very frank…Coinbase does not list securities. “
He said Coinbase was “mostly silent” during its interactions with the SEC, but otherwise explained the SEC’s official statement.
Grewal said that in 2021, the SEC appears to have admitted that it has no framework or statutory authority to regulate cryptocurrency companies. But in 2022, when FTX collapsed, the SEC appeared to adopt a new stance.
“We feel that we have sufficient authority in this area to regulate cryptocurrency companies. We really do.”
Grewal suggested that the new statement is inconsistent with other changes, such as new legislation from Congress and new rulemaking in the SEC itself.
He also said the SEC has allowed Coinbase to operate as a publicly traded company in 2021. Grewal said his company hasn’t changed fundamentally since then, so the SEC’s actions should not affect Coinbase’s changes or new It cannot be motivated by the SEC’s findings.
Coinbase doesn’t want to go to court
Grewal concluded that Coinbase does not know which activities the SEC has trouble with.
To avoid litigation, the SEC must identify which assets are securities or state which parts of Coinbase’s business must be registered. If so, Grewal said he was prepared to set up a registered securities exchange for specific activities.
Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said his company is “committed to working within regulatory boundaries,” but Wells in the absence of a clear rulebook ‘s notice was “not constructive.” He said Coinbase was prepared to defend it in court.
Coinbase was the first to confirm that it received the Wells Notice on March 22nd, saying the notice was likely a precursor to a charge from the SEC.
Coinbase filed a lawsuit against the SEC on April 25 to try to force it to act on the petition. At that time, management visited the regulator in person.
A post on Coinbase suggests that the SEC’s actions were motivated by the views of Gary Gensler himself, who first appeared on CryptoSlate.
