The materials Coinbase circulated to investors, however, flagged a major risk: The Securities and Exchange Commission could decide that some tokens traded on Coinbase’s platform are securities just like stocks or bonds — bringing all the regulations that come with it.
Two years later, that’s what appears to be happening as the SEC moves to rein in a market rocked by scandals and bankruptcies. And with it is brewing a legal battle over an enforcement push that threatens to reshape Coinbase and the rest of an industry rooted in gray areas of the law.
Source: Coinbase (COIN) Faces Off Against SEC Over Gary Gensler’s Crypto Crackdown – Bloomberg