It turns out that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked Coinbase to stop trading all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin before suing the exchange.
Coinbase CEO Says SEC Asks Coinbase to Stop Trading Everything Except Bitcoin
According to Brian Armstrong, this demand would mean the end of the crypto industry in the US.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told the Financial Times that the SEC made this recommendation before taking legal action against the Nasdaq-listed company for failing to register as a broker last month.
The SEC's lawsuit identified 13 cryptocurrencies, mostly under-traded on Coinbase's platform, as securities and by offering them to customers, claiming that the exchange fell within the jurisdiction of the regulator.
But Coinbase's previous request to delist every single one of its 200+ tokens, with the exception of its flagship Bitcoin, shows that the SEC, under chairman Gary Gensler, is pushing for broader jurisdiction over the crypto industry.
“They got back to us and said they believe every asset other than Bitcoin is a security,” Armstrong said.
“We said, how do you come to that conclusion, because that's not our interpretation of the law. And they said, we're not going to explain it to you, you have to delist every asset other than Bitcoin.”
Had Coinbase agreed to this, it could set a precedent that would cause the vast majority of American crypto businesses to operate illegally unless they register for commission.
*Not investment advice.
