Coinbase Global Inc. will push for legislative solutions on crypto rules as it fights a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the company operates an unregistered securities exchange, the firm’s chief legal officer said.
(Bloomberg) — Coinbase Global Inc. will push for legislative solutions on crypto rules as it fights a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the company operates an unregistered securities exchange, the firm’s chief legal officer said.
“Even as we’re managing the litigation, we are equally eager to engage in pressing legislative solutions,” Paul Grewal said at an investor conference Monday. “We think the court could and should rule that the case lacks legal merits and that will be the end of it.”
If the court disagrees, the case will then proceed through discovery and potentially to a trial, Grewal said. In the meantime, he said he’s hopeful draft legislation addressing the issue will advance in the US House of Representatives by the end of the summer.
The SEC last week widened its crackdown on the crypto industry through a one-two punch against the biggest firms, Binance Holdings and Coinbase. The SEC alleged that Coinbase acted as an exchange, broker-dealer, and clearinghouse all without registering with the agency for any of those roles. Coinbase has denied the allegations, but analysts have said the case will be a significant overhang over the crypto exchange’s business.
The next step will be for Coinbase to file a response to the SEC’s complaint, Grewal said.
After that, “I can’t say for sure whether this is a six-month, 12-month, or 18-month process — there really is a lot of discretion afforded” to judges, he said, adding that Coinbase will operate business as usual in the meantime.
In April, Coinbase filed a case against the SEC, asking the court to compel the agency to respond to a rulemaking petition the company submitted last year. While it’s unlikely that this separate case would preclude the SEC from pursuing its enforcement suit, Grewal said it could have a “material impact” on issues related to fair notice by the SEC.
Grewal said he’s hopeful that a draft on crypto market structure — unveiled by two key House Republican committee chairs — will go to the House floor for a vote “by the end of the summer.” The draft legislation by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson would offer a pathway for digital assets that begin as securities to eventually be regulated as commodities.
Coinbase is still in the process of securing a full license to operate a derivatives market in the US, Grewal said. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and National Futures Association have been “very positive and productive in reviewing our applications,” he said.
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