SEC sues major crypto exchange Coinbase
Zachary Halaschak
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, alleging the company was working as an unregistered securities exchange.
The SEC lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and claimed the crypto asset trading platform acted as an unregistered federal securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The SEC said it should be “permanently restrained and enjoined” from doing so.
“You simply can’t ignore the rules because you don’t like them or because you’d prefer different ones: The consequences for the investing public are far too great,” said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
The news comes a day after the SEC went after Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
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The SEC on Monday accused Binance and its CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, of lying to federal regulators as well as mishandling customer funds. The complaint accuses Binance and Zhao of “blatant disregard” for federal securities law.
Tuesday’s lawsuit against Coinbase was another major blow to the crypto industry. Cryptocurrencies were broadly down on Tuesday morning.
Bitcoin, the flagship currency, was down about 4.5% to $25,500 while Ethereum fell some 3.4% to $1,800. Coinbase’s stock was down more than 22% on Tuesday after the lawsuit.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has not shied away from going after the crypto industry. He spoke about the lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase during a CNBC appearance on Tuesday.
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“These trading platforms, they call themselves exchanges, are commingling a number of functions,” Gensler said. “We don’t see the New York Stock Exchange operating a hedge fund.”