Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong defended his company against a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, saying the regulator is sending conflicting messages to the cryptocurrency industry and that Coinbase has been transparent in its operations.
The SEC had accused Coinbase of operating as an unregistered stock exchange, brokerage and clearinghouse.
Brian Armstrong: "When Going Public, SEC Approved All Our Documents"
Speaking to CNBC, Armstrong stated that Coinbase has a long history of being transparent with the SEC and that the company complies with all rules and regulations that apply to it.
He said that the SEC has allowed Coinbase to become a public company, and the institution's chairman, Gary Gensler, has made it clear that he wants to foster innovation in the crypto space.
He stated that the SEC's actions are not good for America and the industry and that Coinbase now needs to get clarity from the courts:
“They let us be a public company. Now we're seeing conflicting statements from the CFTC and SEC chairman. This is not good for America. It's not good for the industry either. And now we need to get clarity from the courts.”
Armstrong also noted that Coinbase's business model and case is very different from Binance's. He added that Coinbase only lists tokens that it believes are not securities and has a rigorous process for reviewing new assets.
*Not investment advice.
