By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Coinbase (NASDAQ:), the most important U.S. cryptocurrency platform, mentioned it might ask a choose to dismiss the lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee, saying that she had damaged the regulation by failing to register her enterprise.
In a letter filed simply earlier than midnight Wednesday in federal courtroom in Manhattan, Coinbase mentioned the SEC lacks the facility to deliver civil fits as a result of the belongings traded on its platform are usually not “funding contracts.” , and subsequently not titles.
“The SEC can solely pursue its claims if the tokens and staking providers it has recognized are ‘securities,'” Coinbase mentioned. “They don’t seem to be.”
SEC spokespersons didn’t instantly reply to requests for touch upon Thursday.
The SEC sued Coinbase on June 6, claiming it had made billions of {dollars} by appearing as an middleman, together with buying and selling a minimum of 13 crypto belongings, or tokens, equivalent to , and Polygon that ought to have been registered in as titles.
Coinbase has additionally been sued for a “staking” program wherein it swimming pools crypto belongings to help exercise on the blockchain community, in change for “rewards” it gives clients after taking commissions for itself. .
The lawsuit was filed a day after the SEC sued Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency change, accusing it of inflating buying and selling volumes, mismanaging buyer funds and mendacity about its operations.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has tried to say jurisdiction over the crypto trade, which he says has undermined investor confidence in US monetary markets.
In a separate 177-page submitting denying the SEC’s substantive claims, Coinbase mentioned it “welcomes regulation,” however that the regulator was arbitrarily making an attempt to shut the “regulatory hole” with out Congressional authorization. crypto belongings.
“The company’s enforcement energy is critical however not limitless,” he mentioned. “The SEC’s motion right here is past these limits and unlawful.”
Shares of the mother or father firm of Coinbase Coinbase World rose $1.58, or 2.2%, to $72.33 in afternoon buying and selling on the Nasdaq.
The case is SEC v Coinbase Inc et al, US District Courtroom, Southern District of New York, No. 23-04738.
