Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong spoke at length on Wednesday about his initial reaction to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s lawsuit against his exchange. The executive responded to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s claims about the market not needing more “digital currency,” and debated whether the SEC is acting in good faith. An Avalanche of Currencies...Read More
Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management has doubled down on its bullish stance on Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in America. The investment management firm has purchased another pile of Coinbase (COIN) stock following a price dip caused by the recent SEC lawsuit against the exchange. Recall that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued...Read More
The US Securities and Exchange Commission made its way into the headlines in the past two days, by going after two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, alleging them of selling unregistered securities. While the SEC Chair claims these actions are for the greater good of investors, the CEO of Ripple – Brad Garlinghouse – believes...Read More
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seems to be out to prove that at least one crypto asset is a security, as stated by Chairman Gary Gensler. The SEC recently sued two of the biggest exchanges back-to-back, Binance and Coinbase, alleging that both companies failed to register as crypto brokers, exchange, and clearing agencies....Read More
Retail traders and investors are not the only ones suffering in America’s war on crypto. Company executives are also seeing their fortunes diminished due to recent enforcement actions. This week, the SEC sued both Binance and Coinbase, dousing the flames of optimism for the crypto industry in 2023 following the cycle bottom after FTX collapsed....Read More
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is not shaken by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s new lawsuit against his exchange. Both the executive and his company responded with brief arguments on Monday as to why Coinbase will reign victorious in its legal battle with the regulator. A Chance to Win Clarity In a tweet on...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s charges against Coinbase are largely reminiscent of its Binance case from just a day prior – but also contain some key differences. Here’s a closer look at the text and implications of the commission’s 101-page lawsuit against America’s largest crypto exchange. Coinbase and Binance: Lawsuits Compared Much like...Read More
Coinbase (COIN) fell 13% on Tuesday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a major lawsuit against the firm for violating securities laws. Yet the agency isn’t alone: Alabama’s securities regulator is also targeting Coinbase, specifically for its failure to register its staking product. The Need for Registration In a separate filing on...Read More
It appears Binance is not the only crypto heavyweight that the SEC is aimed at. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has just filed another lawsuit – this time against the leading US-based cryptocurrency exchange and a publicly-traded company in the US – Coinbase. SEC Charges Coinbase With Violating Securities Laws In a brand new...Read More
Just one day after launching a slew of charges against Binance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a 101-page lawsuit against Coinbase – America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Similar to Binance, the agency alleged that Coinbase has failed to register as either a broker, national securities exchange, or clearing agency, despite serving the...Read More
The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance is witnessing significant net outflows as thousands of crypto traders withdraw their funds from the platform following the latest lawsuit from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to on-chain data from the blockchain analytics platform CryptoQuant, Binance recorded a net outflow of 11,380 BTC just the...Read More
If American regulators were aiming to crash crypto markets and generate losses by instilling fear in investors, they are achieving their goal. Cryptocurrency markets have shed $55 billion or around 5% since the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance for violating securities laws. As a result, total capitalization has dropped to $1.13 trillion, its lowest...Read More
On Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pressed a slew of charges against Binance, marking one of the agency’s most significant enforcement actions against the crypto industry in history. Let’s have a look at the regulator’s most stunning allegations against the exchange, alongside Binance’s response to its claims. What Did Binance Do? The...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has mysteriously removed former commissioner William Hinman’s biography from its website. This occurs only 8 days before the court requires the SEC to provide unredacted copies of all of Hinman’s emails – widely viewed as paramount to the agency’s lawsuit with crypto industry giant Ripple. Are Hinman’s Emails...Read More
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Binance – the world’s largest crypto exchange – on Monday, alongside its CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and partner firm, Binance US. Allegations include securities law violations such as self-dealing market manipulation, and the sale/offer of multiple unregistered securities. According to a press release...Read More
The Ripple lawsuit is now rounding out its 29th month. Ripple Labs (XRP) has spent over $200M defending itself in court. Cardano and Ethereum founder Charles Hoskinson said it will probably be resolved in June. During a recent “Surprise AMA” interview on YouTube, a viewer asked Hoskinson: “Charles, do you think the Ripple case gets...Read More
In an opinion piece on May 30, the Coinbase CEO wrote that recent crypto industry turbulence “might make it tempting for policymakers to write it off as an unstable asset class.” This is effectively what U.S. regulators have been doing, missing the forest for the trees in treating crypto as a speculative or gambling tool...Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Tuesday that ex-Coinbase manager Ishan Wahi and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, agreed to settle charges for insider trading using knowledge from the exchange. The former has been forced to forfeit 10.97 ETH ($20,848.92) and 9,440 USDT, while the latter was made to forfeit $$892,500. The End of...Read More
Crypto exchange Gemini and bankrupt digital asset lender Genesis Global Capital have jointly filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the former’s Earn program. According to a document filed at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday, May 26,...Read More
In response to the SEC’s arguments against its petition for a writ of mandamus, Coinbase said the financial regulator “is talking out of both sides of its mouth, and it is wrong at each end.” The crypto exchange’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal described the mandamus as “the tailor-made remedy for the extraordinary facts.” The...Read More
Speaking on the Unchained podcast on May 23, Dan Berkowitz muddied the regulatory waters even further by stating that crypto assets can be both commodities and securities. The notion goes against the opinion of Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler who asserts they are all securities with investment contracts. Referring to Ethereum, he said...Read More
The latest in a series of scuffles with crypto-related companies, the SEC has now spoken out about Filecoin (FIL), warning Grayscale that these tokens qualify as securities. As a result, the crypto manager – who is part of the Digital Currency Group (DCG) – was asked to retract the Form 10 request submitted for the...Read More
In the latest development in a court case that’s been dragging on for years, Judge Analisa Torres denied the SEC’s request to seal documents pertaining to a speech by Bill Hinman, the director of the agency’s corporate finance division. First Attempts Blocked Last Year The speech in question, which outlines why Hinman does not consider...Read More
Late last month, Coinbase – who had previously been hit with a Wells notice, an informal warning from the SEC usually followed by a lawsuit – asked the courts to force the agency to clearly explain what actions they should take in order to remain compliant. The SEC, on the other hand, remains tight-lipped. Amicable...Read More
In a surprising request filed recently, the SEC asked that the court of New Hampshire downsize the penalties imposed on LBRY, a decentralized content platform best known for its video-sharing platform Odysee. Legitimate Business Expenses Taken Into Account Back in November of 2022, the New Hampshire District Court ordered LBRY to pay $22 million to...Read More
Amidst regulatory tussle, an SEC disclosure revealed an expensive bill for Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s security benefits. The exec was granted security benefits of $6.3 million last year, representing more than triple the amount his security cost Coinbase the previous year. According to the public document, Armstrong’s total compensation for the whole of 2022 was...Read More
Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings has received another subpoena from the SEC. The summons is in relation to its Montana data center, which the regulator claims may have violated securities laws. The company said it was cooperating with the SEC following an initial subpoena on April 10 relating to “transactions with related parties.” “We...Read More
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed Monday that Ripple Labs will spend around $200 million on legal fees to fend off an aggressive SEC lawsuit. But one lawyer and crypto bull explains why the case doesn’t cut the mustard. John Deaton, the founder of Crypto Law and owner of the Deaton Law Firm, recently described the...Read More
Coinbase has called for certain modifications to the proposed rule regarding registered investment advisers’ (RIA) obligations to hold client assets at qualified custodians. Even as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deemed Coinbase Custody as a “qualified custodian,” the crypto exchange believes the revised RIA rule makes “unwarranted assumptions about custodial practice.” Revisions...Read More
Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and CEO of leading American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, believes the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is on a lone crusade in the push for regulatory clarity in the country, as the agency’s stance on the matter is different from that of Congress and other federal regulators. During a Monday interview...Read More
