Coinbase, SEC battle over clear crypto regulation

Coinbase pressured the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over precise and transparent crypto regulation on Monday, Sept. 23.

The leading cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. and the financial regulator clashed in a federal appeals court in Philadelphia, according to a Reuters report. 

Coinbase urged the SEC to create a better regulatory scene for crypto assets in the U.S. 

Last December, Coinbase filed a petition claiming the crypto regulatory framework is “unworkable” but the SEC has already denied it.

On Sept. 23, the exchange added that crypto companies cannot operate in the U.S. due to the SEC’s unreasonable regulations, per the Reuters report.

Coinbase’s lawyer, Eugene Scalia, told the appeals court that the SEC is refusing to provide information “on how to register with the agency and comply with U.S. laws.”

On the other hand, SEC lawyer Ezekiel Hill argued that the regulator should not have to create a new set of rules for Coinbase if the company “wants to arrange its business in a way that does not comply with the existing regulatory framework.”

The judges said that the SEC is taking a cautious approach toward rulemaking but pressured the agency on “why cryptocurrency was not one of them.”

The SEC sued Coinbase last year for failing to register as a broker while operating in the country. Moreover, the regulator claimed that the exchange’s staking program and over 10 digital assets available on the platform were securities.

Three weeks later, on June 27, Coinbase sued the SEC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for refusing to provide the requested information under the Freedom of Information Act.

Coinbase and the SEC are clashing over the securities allegations in a separate lawsuit.