Coinbase CEO: SEC requested for buying and selling halt in all the pieces besides Bitcoin – FT

starcrypto — The U.S. Securities and Change Fee requested that Coinbase (NASDAQ:) stop buying and selling in all digital tokens apart from previous to submitting a lawsuit towards the cryptocurrency trade, in line with the Monetary Occasions.

In an interview, Coinbase Chief Government Brian Armstrong instructed the paper that the SEC “mentioned…we consider each asset apart from bitcoin is a safety.” Armstrong added that the regulators then requested that Coinbase delist all the greater than 200 tokens it presents to prospects, other than Bitcoin.

Armstrong refuted the declare, saying that agreeing to the shutdowns “would have primarily meant the tip of the crypto trade within the U.S.” As a substitute, he mentioned Coinbase determined to problem the SEC’s assertions in courtroom.

Indicators are rising that the SEC could also be trying to achieve extra management over the crypto trade, with Chair Gary Gensler arguing that the majority cryptocurrencies qualify as securities, or tradeable monetary property. Coinbase was sued by the SEC final month for failing to register as a dealer.

Ought to the SEC win this case, it might set a precedent for the ability regulators within the U.S. have over crypto companies and probably result in extra stringent compliance guidelines.

For its half, the SEC instructed the FT that its enforcement division didn’t make formal requests for “firms to delist crypto property.” It additionally declined to touch upon what the delisting would imply for the crypto trade.