Coinbase It has reportedly asked the US Court of Appeals to rule that trading crypto assets on its platform are not securities transactions, but rather asset sales.
The company said this in a petition it submitted to the court, which is part of an appeal related to Securities and Exchange Commission SEC lawsuit filed in 2023 alleges Coinbase acts as an unregistered securities broker, Seeking Alpha I mentioned Wednesday (January 22).
Coinbase said in its petition that trades on its platform are not securities transactions because buyers do not obtain rights against the issuer of the asset as they do with stocks, bonds and other securities, according to the report.
Ruling on that question “will allow the court to remove the cloud that currently hangs over the cryptocurrency market,” the company said, according to the report.
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase in June 2023, claiming that the platform was allowing its users to trade unregistered securities.
Gurbir S. Grewalwho was director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division at the time, said in a… press release The lawsuit declares: “You cannot simply ignore the rules because you don’t like them or because you prefer different rules: the consequences for the investing public are too great.”
In a statement provided to PYMNTS at the time, Coinbase’s chief legal officer and general counsel said Paul Grewal “The SEC’s reliance on an enforcement-only approach in the absence of clear rules for the digital asset industry hurts U.S. economic competitiveness and companies like Coinbase that have a clear commitment to compliance,” he said.
In September, in A string Published on X Paul Grewal writes that the SEC has refused to provide regulatory guidance while also engaging in an “arbitrary” enforcement campaign.
“Regulation by enforcement only harms American consumers, innovation, U.S. competitiveness, and our national security,” Paul Grewal wrote. “Coinbase is determined to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to gain clarity for our industry and for the millions of Americans who own cryptocurrencies.”
On Tuesday (January 21), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by the acting Chairman, met Mark T. UedaIt has launched a cryptocurrency working group focused on developing a “comprehensive and clear” regulatory framework for cryptocurrency assets.
