Coinbase, SEC battle over clear crypto regulation

Coinbase pressed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, September 23, for strict and transparent crypto regulation.

According to Reuters, a leading US cryptocurrency exchange and the financial regulator have come face to face in a federal appeals court in Philadelphia.

Coinbase Calls on SEC to Create Better Regulatory Environment for Crypto Assets in the US

Last December, Coinbase filed a petition claiming that the crypto regulatory framework was “unenforceable,” but the SEC had already rejected it.

According to Reuters, the exchange announced on September 23 that crypto companies cannot operate in the US due to unreasonable regulations by the SEC.

Coinbase attorney Eugene Scalia told the appeals court that the SEC refused to provide information “on how to register with the entity and how to comply with U.S. law.”

SEC attorney Ezekiel Hill, on the other hand, argued that the regulator should not have to create a new set of rules for Coinbase if the company “seeks to regulate its business in a way that does not fit within the existing regulatory framework.”

The judges said the SEC has taken a cautious approach to rulemaking but pressed the agency on “why cryptocurrency is not one of them.”

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

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

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