As the US stock markets remain closed due to the federal holiday of Martin Luther Jr. Day, the excitement of last week’s bitcoin ETF approval will take a backseat as the US Securities and Exchange Commission prepares to face the cryptocurrency exchange platform, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) over $150m in token unlocks.
Coinbase Vs. SEC over $150m in unlocked tokens
Set to take place in Manhattan’s federal court on Wednesday, 17 January, the SEC states that Coinbase “violated national securities laws” by selling 13 unregistered crypto tokens. Its second accusation notes that Coinbase did not register its staking-as-a-service (StaaS) program, a method of verifying cryptocurrency transactions that rewards participants on their holdings.
Coinbase, on the other hand, argues that the SEC allowed the company to go public, essentially signing off its core business. The company declared that the agency is “overstepping” with a lack of congressional mandate.
Crypto expert James A. Murphy took to Twitter, suggesting that the SEC only need to make their claim “plausible” to be allowed to continue the case. In the unlikely event that the court allows Coinbase’s motion, as well as allowing the SEC to continue, the case will be revisited in a year’s time for a summary judgement.
Don’t miss out the latest news, subscribe to LeapRate’s newsletter
Ripple (NASDAQ: XRP), another cryptocurrency and platform, is also due to go head-to-head with the SEC on 23 April this year.
Ripple, however, occupies the upper field in this case, with three major (yet partial) wins under its belt so far.
The SEC reportedly asked the crypto platform for its 2022-2023 financial statements and post-compliant contracts, which constituted unregistered securities offerings, according to Federal Judge Torres.
