Of the alleged securities violations against Coinbase, the list of assets deemed to be securities reveals the broad nature of its classification. The SEC’s claims that its self-custodied wallet is a broker-dealer because it helps “route” a transaction doesn’t hold much merit either. And alleging that Coinbase is behaving like a clearing agency also seems far-fetched.
These actions are likely to attract fines for Coinbase and possibly the closure of its staking business. But there is a distinct difference between this and the SEC’s legal action against Binance, which faces an outright ban from operating in the U.S. The silver lining to this is that Coinbase now has the opportunity to fight the SEC in court — and fight it will. Armstrong has already said he’ll do what it takes to “get the job done.” The outcome of this case will likely determine the future of crypto in America.
Source: The SEC has spoken: The future of finance is not in America
