SEC considers a lawsuit against Coinbase

Coinbase received a so-called Wells notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week, which means that the financial watchdog is considering launching a lawsuit against the exchange platform. The lawsuit would revolve around some tokens that, according to the SEC, Coinbase should not have allowed to be traded on its platform and the infamous topic of strike action. According to Coinbase, the United States is making a mistake and creating a gap where other countries are only too happy to step in.

In a new blog post titled ” Europe on the winning side, is the US still catching up? Coinbase VP Daniel Seifert writes that the industry is currently running away from the United States. That running away has to do with the way of acting of the American authorities, who prefer the hard hand to consultation and clarity.

Especially in recent months, the SEC has increasingly come out of the corner with fines and bans, something that Seifert says is not the way to deal with this industry. ” This approach creates a climate of uncertainty and instability in the crypto industry, ” writes Seifert.

Coinbase’s top lawyer @iampaulgrewal says the SEC wants court fights instead of conversation. 🥊

In dozens of meetings with the SEC over the last 9 months, Grewal says the exchange was “given essentially no response” to key questions.

🔊 Listen:https://t.co/027slXaMhb pic.twitter.com/L0ikJwleyA

— Laura Shin (@laurashin) March 24, 2023

According to Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s lead attorney, the SEC also currently prefers the courtroom over a conversation with the exchange platform. So it’s clearly looking for the fight, rather than a solution that both sides might be happy with. The consequence, according to Seifert, is that the US will lose its status as a leader in the field of crypto.

The crypto community, meanwhile, is reacting with surprise to the way the SEC is currently choosing to tackle the industry. “The SEC is missing one of the biggest fraud cases in history (FTX/Alameda). Gary Gensler then befriends the head of that fraud case (SBF). Next, the SEC goes after the industry’s most legitimate company: Coinbase. Yes yes, very normal and totally rational, ” said a frustrated user via Twitter.