Legal
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has specifically targeted several Ethereum-based altcoins on Coinbase before sending today’s Wells Notice to the leading crypto exchange.
Back in June, in its insider trading case against a former Coinbase employee, the SEC called out nine crypto assets that it believes are securities – and six of those assets remain on the exchange today.
The coins in question are Amp (AMP), LCX (LCX), Power Ledger (POWR), Rally (RLY), XYO Network (XYO) and DerivaDAO (DDX).
At the time, Coinbase strongly rejected the claim that the above crypto assets are securities, citing its “rigorous” and “SEC-reviewed” process for determining which assets are listed on the exchange.
Today, the SEC sent a Wells Notice to Coinbase, asserting the agency has made a preliminary determination that recommends the agency file an enforcement action against Coinbase.
Coinbase says the notice targets an “undefined portion” of its listed digital assets, as well as the company’s staking service Coinbase Earn, its institutional arm Coinbase Prime, and its non-custodial Coinbase Wallet.
The exchange says it welcomes the opportunity to defend its products in court if need be, and notes it continues to operate as usual on all fronts.
The news comes amid a volatile day for Bitcoin and the crypto markets following a fresh quarter point rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $27,397 at time of publishing, down 2.7% in the last 24 hours.
