The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Coinbase – Kommersant

Today, June 6, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reported about filing a lawsuit against the largest US cryptocurrency platform Coinbase. The regulator accused the company of trading in cryptocurrency assets for several years without obtaining an appropriate license to carry out exchange activities, brokerage and clearing services.

The SEC claims that since 2019, Coinbase has been a de facto trading platform for trading cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets through its staking services program – storing funds in a cryptocurrency wallet for trading purposes. Thus, according to the SEC, Coinbase was in fact an exchange for trading assets comparable to securities, but did not obtain an appropriate license for this and did not provide investors with proper disclosure of information about risks and remedies.

“We accuse Coinbase of violating securities laws, illegally offering trading, exchange, dealer and clearing services,” said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. “In all other segments of our securities market, such operations are carried out separately from each other. Coinbase’s actions effectively deprived investors of adequate protection, including from fraud and manipulation, did not give them access to full disclosure of trading information and measures to counter conflicts of interest, and did not allow the SEC to exercise the necessary control over such operations.

It is not reported what punishment Coinbase may face. Following the SEC’s announcement of a lawsuit against Coinbase, the company’s shares fell 16% on the NASDAQ.

The day before SEC filed in court a similar lawsuit against the largest crypto exchange Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao, accusing them of violating US securities trading laws on 13 counts.

Evgeniy Khvostik