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- 1 Brian Armstrong proposed his side in an interview after the SEC sued crypto exchange Coinbase on June 6, 2023.
- 2 The Executive says Coinbase only lists crypto assets that are commodities on its platform.
Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pressed legal charges against Coinbase for violating federal laws. Responding to the SEC’s lawsuit, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sat for a detailed interview with the Wall Street Journal, an esteemed financial news outlet. The entrepreneur stated that the dispute between regulators and companies will continue until it is clarified whether crypto assets fall under the category of securities or commodities.
Armstrong pointed out that the SEC reviewed the business of Coinbase and “allowed us to become a public company in 2021.” However, the SEC lawsuit claims that the firm is facilitating the unlawful buying and selling of crypto assets since 2019.
Taking to his Twitter account on June 6, Tuesday, Armstrong noted, “In case it’s not obvious, the Coinbase suit is very different from the others out there – the complaint filed against us is exclusively focused on what is or is not a security. And we are confident in our facts and laws.”
Regarding the SEC complaint against us today, we're proud to represent the industry in court to finally get some clarity around crypto rules.
— Brian Armstrong 🛡️ (@brian_armstrong) June 6, 2023
Remember:
1. The SEC reviewed our business and allowed us to become a public company in 2021.
2. There is no path to "come in and…
He shared that Coinbase had around 30 meetings with the SEC in 2022 to ask for guidance and be collaborative, however, they received no regulatory clarity. “There is no path to ‘come in and register’ – we tried, repeatedly,” Armstrong stated in his tweet. He has previously mentioned at a Bloomberg Invest event on June 7, that he was met with a “pretty icy reception” while chatting with Gensler about registering his exchange.
On another note, Armstrong partially agreed with the SEC’s argument, saying there are lots of crypto securities in the market. However, he clarified that Coinbase does not list security assets on its platform as they have reviewed over 1000 assets and rejected nearly 90% on a slight chance of them being a security.
Armstrong also pointed out that SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have conflicting views on the basic distinction of a commodity or security. He implied that this turf war is a major hurdle in establishing concrete rules for the crypto industry.
Furthermore, he brought up the inability of the SEC chair, Gary Gensler, to answer U.S. Congressman McHenry whether ether is a security or not. The billionaire investor also reiterated his call for Congress to assert itself to “draft legislation that will unblock the issue in the United States.”
Coinbase is Not Giving up on US: Brian Armstrong
On the day SEC filed charges against Coinbase, Armstrong responded to the attack on his Twitter saying the exchange was “proud to represent the industry in court to finally get some clarity around crypto rules.” Highlighting the importance of the SEC vs. Coinbase lawsuit, he mentioned he hoped it will provide more clarity to the whole crypto industry and prevent the U.S. from falling behind the rest of the world.
He further emphasized that regulating crypto is not actually “rocket science” and he has full faith that the U.S. will get the right outcome even if it takes a while.”
“We are here to stay,” Armstrong stated in the conversation. “I created this company in the United States because I believe – it’s a big market.” He also added, “But also there’s rule of law, and there’s a willingness to generally do the right thing even if it takes a few iterations.”
Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast, with a major in macroeconomics and minor in business statistics. She believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks, and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning. She frequently researches, and posts content on the top altcoins, their theoretical working principles and technical price predictions.
