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BFD Expert Voices - Private Credit

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Coinbase announced Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to dismiss its years-long lawsuit against the crypto exchange.

Why it matters: The move signals that the SEC is abandoning the policies of former chair Gary Gensler.

Driving the news: In a blog post and regulatory filing, Coinbase said it reached an agreement in principle with SEC staff to dismiss the litigation, pending commissioner approval.

Flashback: In 2023, the SEC sued Coinbase as part of a broader crackdown on the crypto industry after FTX's collapse.

The case alleged that Coinbase failed to register as an exchange under securities regulations and sold digital assets on its platform that were unregistered securities.

Friction point: Gensler repeatedly argued that most tokens were securities and should be subject to SEC oversight.

That belief was the basis not only for the Coinbase suit, but for lawsuits against Binance and Kraken as well.

State of play: The regulatory environment has changed dramatically since President Trump returned to office, this time with a pro-crypto agenda.

He nominated former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins, a favorite within the crypto community, to chair the regulatory entity.

Follow the money: Coinbase was one of many firms in the industry to back PAC Fairshake, which threw its weight behind several crypto-friendly candidates in the 2024 election cycle.

The firm gave $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee and added Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita to its global advisory council.

💭 Brady's thought bubble: The SEC had previously approved Coinbase's entry into public markets, so this case always looked strange.

It meant the SEC knowingly approved a business with an illegal business model to be publicly traded.

The bottom line: It's no longer Gensler's SEC, which probably means fewer enforcement actions and a more lax regulatory environment for crypto.

Coinbase says the SEC will drop enforcement case against it

The move signals that the SEC is abandoning the policies of former chair Gary Gensler.

Illustration of a gavel on a block featuring the Coinbase logo

Coinbase announced Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to dismiss its years-long lawsuit against the crypto exchange.Why it matters: The move signals that the SEC is abandoning the policies of former chair Gary Gensler.

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Coinbase says the SEC will drop enforcement case against it

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