Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong claimed that the Securities and Exchange Commission asked the crypto exchange to stop trading all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin, before launching sweeping legal action against the company last month, the Financial Times reported Monday.
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase last month for operating as an unregistered securities ... [+]
In an interview with the Financial Times, Armstrong said the SEC told Coinbase that it views “every asset other than bitcoin” as a security and ordered them to delist them from their website.
Armstrong claims the regulator refused to explain how they arrived at this conclusion.
Aside from Bitcoin, Coinbase lists 261 other tokens on its website as “tradeable” assets.
The Coinbase CEO said his company was left with no choice but to allow the matter to go to court, as compliance with the order would have meant “the end of the crypto industry in the US.”
The SEC refuted Armstrong’s claims and told the Financial Times that it did not make any “formal requests” for “companies to delist crypto assets.”
Last month, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, accusing the company of operating as an unregistered securities exchange and broker. In its suit, the regulator accused Coinbase of unlawfully making “billions of dollars” of profit while acting as an unregistered broker for securities. The crypto industry has clashed with the regulator in the past year over its efforts to classify cryptocurrencies as securities—a position outlined by the SEC’s Chair Gary Gensler.
SEC asked Coinbase to halt trading in everything except bitcoin, CEO says (Financial Times)
SEC Charges Coinbase—Alleges Crypto Trading Platform Operated As Unregistered Exchange Since 2019 (Forbes)