During a chat with SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said that his efforts to register the exchange with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were received with a cold reception. Armstrong said during a speech at a Bloomberg Invest event that Coinbase had requested a meeting with the regulatory agency, and although they had a virtual conversation at one time, the response wasn’t exactly warm.
Armstrong said that the interaction seemed “frankly like a pretty icy reception,” and Gensler told him to talk with his attorney. Armstrong’s comments come in response to the SEC’s recent lawsuit against Coinbase, which accuses the exchange, broker, and clearing agency platform of operating illegally. The oversight board also accused Coinbase of selling and offering securities unregisteredly in connection with its staking-as-a-service scheme.
It is important to note that the SEC identified 13 cryptocurrencies as securities in its complaint, and the action did not directly target Coinbase personnel. The SEC filed complaints against Binance, a significant cryptocurrency exchange, and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, concurrently with the legal action against Coinbase. The filings include a number of violations, including deceiving investors and illegally acting as an exchange.
Gensler has made a point of urging bitcoin exchanges to register, claiming that these marketplaces are often “rife with conflicts.” Shortly after the exchange unveiled a fresh television ad campaign promoting the future of cryptocurrency, the SEC announced charges against Coinbase.
In a roughly two-minute, all-black and white film, Armstrong emphasized the benefits of cryptocurrency while refuting the idea that it is solely speculative. The campaign emphasizes cryptocurrencies’ wider relevance while attempting to refute the “naive view” that they are only speculative assets. Four pieces of the commercial series starring Armstrong will broadcast on well-known Sunday programs, with a brand-new episode debuting every week.
The spat between Coinbase and the SEC highlights the constant regulatory scrutiny the cryptocurrency business is subject to. The resolution of these legal disputes will probably have a big impact on how large cryptocurrency exchanges operate and implement compliance controls in the future.
