Coinbase sues SEC to compel the regulator to respond to a July 2022 petition

Published , by TJ Denzer

Coinbase has sued the US Securities and Exchange Commission in hopes of forcing the federal regulator to clarify positions on cryptocurrency and whether or not current securities rule-making and processes can be applied to the crypto industry. Even after cryptocurrency and NFTs have cooled off heavily from the absolute high of craze they were on in the last several years, Coinbase remains one of the largest crypto exchange platforms available. However, it’s not without risk. The company continues to try to navigate the cloudy waters of US regulations and attempt to remain on the level, to the point of putting up a petition demanding a stance on crypto securities from the SEC which has, up to this point, gone unanswered by the government body.

Coinbase announced its intention to sue the SEC via a press release on its website on April 24, 2023:

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal echoed the company's lawsuit, demanding clarification of rules on crypto securities by the SEC.
Source: Coinbase

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal went on to further expand on the reasoning behind this lawsuit, claiming that not only has the SEC failed to respond to Coinbase’s petition for clarification on crypto securities rules, but that the lack of clarity in this topic in general has put crypto businesses like Coinbase in a tight spot, an example of which can arguably be seen when Coinbase received a Wells notice from the SEC in March 2023, warning of impending regulatory action against the company.

With the Wells notice still hanging overhead and Coinbase now challenging the SEC to clarify its stance on crypto securities and rules pertaining to them, it will be interesting to see what comes next. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this story for further updates.