Oregon’s Attorney General (AG) is suing Coinbase, claiming the exchange sold 31 cryptocurrencies as unregistered securities, violating Oregon state law. This comes after the SEC dropped its own case against Coinbase, a move many in the crypto industry considered unfair.
A Wider Net Than the SEC
The Oregon AG’s lawsuit names a whopping 31 cryptocurrencies, including popular ones like XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA), as unregistered securities. This is significantly more than the number of cryptos the SEC targeted in its now-dismissed case. The lawsuit alleges Coinbase broke Oregon’s securities laws by selling these cryptos to Oregon residents without proper registration.
The list of cryptos named includes: AAVE, ADA, ALGO, AMP, APE, ATOM, AVAX, AXS, CHZ, COMP, DASH, DDX, EOS, FIL, FLOW, ICP, LCX, LINK, MATIC, MIR, MKR, NEAR, POWR, RLY, SAND, SOL, UNI, VGX, WLUNA, XRP, and XYO.
Coinbase Fights Back
Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Paul Grewal, slammed the lawsuit, calling it a “kitchen sink” approach and a waste of taxpayer money. He points out the lawsuit seems to be directly copying the SEC’s failed strategy, and suggests it’s politically motivated. Grewal also highlighted that the AG’s office omitted key details from the SEC case, such as court decisions that went against the SEC’s position. He also accused the AG of essentially picking up where the SEC left off, trying to revive a regulatory approach that’s been abandoned.
Coinbase notified around 560,000 Oregon users about the lawsuit. The company argues the AG’s office is wrongly accusing them of violating securities laws and harming their customers.
A Shift in Regulatory Approach?
The SEC’s recent shift away from aggressive enforcement towards a more collaborative approach under the Trump administration might explain Oregon’s actions. The Oregon AG’s lawsuit could be seen as an attempt to continue the more stringent regulatory approach the SEC previously took. This creates uncertainty in the crypto market as different jurisdictions take different stances on crypto regulation.
