SEC Continues to Delay Its Decision On Coinbase Call For Crypto Clarity

• The SEC has continued to drag its feet on Coinbase’s call for crypto clarity, postponing action until December 15.
• Despite the lack of clarity, the SEC has taken swift legal action against crypto companies like Kraken for noncompliance.
• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong remains hopeful that recent industry changes will catalyze regulatory clarity in the US.

On November 21, the SEC filed an update to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on the Coinbase proposal on crypto rulemaking. 

SEC’s Slow Response Raises Concerns

However, no progress has been made since the regulator has postponed any decisions or actions until December 15. 

Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal shared the letter, stating, “You can read it for yourself, but I’m happy to translate: “Still dragging our feet, please give us yet more unlimited time to actually do something.”

Meanwhile in the Third Circuit, the SEC filed an “update” on our petition for rulemaking. You can read it for yourself, but I’m happy to translate: “Still dragging our feet, please give us yet more unlimited time to actually do something.” We appreciate the Court’s consideration. pic.twitter.com/i2uxUlTRyq

— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) November 21, 2023

Coinbase filed its rulemaking petition back in July 2022. It urged the regulator to set clear guidelines for the crypto industry instead of constantly issuing lawsuits for noncompliance in what is still a grey area.

Coinbase pushed the issue several times with court letters requesting action. However, they have fallen on deaf ears as the firm (and industry) continues to get stonewalled by the SEC. 

See Also: SEC Delays Verdict On Franklin and Globe X’s Bitcoin ETF Applications

Sixteen months later, there has still been no action from the SEC, which continues to procrastinate and push back the dates. 

Meanwhile, Gary Gensler and his team of crypto cops have wasted no time taking legal action against crypto companies. The Kraken exchange was the latest to be sued this week when the regulator accused it of operating an unlicensed securities exchange. 

On November 21, Cameron Winklevoss said on x that he was “Looking forward to watching Kraken and 

Coinbase delivers more embarrassing losses to the SEC. Keep on fighting the good fight!”

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart commented: 

“This complaint against Kraken feels like the same thing as the Coinbase suit to me. Notably, here’s another list of digital assets that the SEC is claiming to be securities.”

This complaint against Kraken feels like the same thing as the Coinbase suit to me. Notably, heres another list of digital assets that the SEC is claiming to be securities. There's 16 cryptos explicitly listed here including Solana, Cardano & Algorand. https://t.co/SUJ9eqkHtC pic.twitter.com/Qqq1y9BMWi

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) November 20, 2023

Coinbase Reaction to CZ Resignation  

On November 22, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong commented on the resignation of Changpeng Zhao as Binance CEO and his massive fine. 

See Also: SEC Delays Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF Application To Next Year

“Today’s news reinforces that doing it the hard way was the right decision,” he said. The commencement was regarding Coinbase’s efforts to remain compliant in the United States.

Since the founding of Coinbase back in 2012 we have taken a long-term view. I knew we needed to embrace compliance to become a generational company that stood the test of time. We got the licenses, hired the compliance and legal teams, and made it clear our brand was about trust…

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) November 21, 2023

However, this has not stopped the SEC from suing the firm earlier this year in its war on crypto. 

Armstrong said that we now have an opportunity to start a new chapter for this industry. 

“We took a lot of arrows operating here in the U.S. due to the lack of regulatory clarity, and my hope is that today’s news serves as a catalyst to finally achieve that.”