U.S. steps up crypto crackdown with Coinbase suit
The Hindu
The SEC charged that Coinbase made billions of dollars by “unlawfully facilitating the buying and selling of crypto asset securities.”
In their second major action against a big crypto player in two days, U.S. regulators sued Coinbase on Tuesday, alleging its failure to register as a securities exchange venue exposed investors to risk.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged that the largest digital currency trading platform in the United States had made billions of dollars by "unlawfully facilitating the buying and selling of crypto asset securities."
Shares of Coinbase tumbled on news of the lawsuit, which comes on the heels of charges unveiled Monday against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao for numerous alleged securities law violations.
Coinbase slammed the SEC for turning the screws on a market that is still largely unregulated, a criticism that was levied by Binance the day before.
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"The SEC's reliance on an enforcement-only approach in the absence of clear rules for the digital asset industry is hurting America's economic competitiveness and companies like Coinbase that have a demonstrated commitment to compliance," said Paul Grewal, general counsel of Coinbase.
At a congressional hearing later Tuesday, Grewal called for "legislation that allows fair rules for the road to be developed transparently" without litigation.