Coinbase more than ever in the sights of US financial authorities. The activities of the cryptocurrency exchange platform are closely monitored by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The latter suspects that Coinbase allowed its customers to exchange assets that should have been registered as financial securities, three sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. An investigation would be open.
“We are confident that our rigorous due diligence process — a process previously reviewed by the SEC — keeps securities off our platform, and we look forward to engaging with the SEC on this matter,” Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said on Twitter. For months, there have been rumblings in Washington that U.S. regulators should tighten their grip on cryptocurrency exchanges as their ratings have plummeted, wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars in market value.
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Coinbase points to 7 risks that weigh on its future and the future of cryptocurrencies
The largest American trading platform, Coinbase, allows trading with over 150 tokens. If these products were to be considered securities, the company might have to register with the SEC. Coinbase shares fell from $14.14 to $52.93 in New York after the news broke.
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Cryptocurrencies: Invest regularly to mitigate risk
Coinbase has been at war with the regulator for several months. As Bloomberg recalls, the platform last week asked the SEC to propose clearer rules regarding cryptocurrencies. Tensions escalated on July 21, when the SEC charged one of the company’s former employees with insider trading by leaking information to help his brother and a friend buy tokens ahead of their introduction to the platform.
