Coinbase CEO: SEC is like soccer officials in pickleball

CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, has likened the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to “soccer officials” in a game of pickleball, blasting U.S. authorities for their inability to “agree on the rules” of “this new game.”

Armstrong made these remarks after revealing on March 22 that his company had received a Wells Notice, which, as he remarked, “often precedes an enforcement action.” He said:

“Imagine you’ve got both football and soccer refs on the field, but we’re actually playing pickleball (fastest growing new sport in America). The refs can’t really agree on the rules of this new game, and one of them decides to change a call they made back in April 2021.”

The CEO of Coinbase has criticized the apparent lack of clarity from United States officials about cryptocurrency regulation. In addition, there has been an ongoing discussion about who should be in charge of crypto regulation.

Armstrong joked that the allusion to a “call they made in April 2021” relates to the SEC’s acceptance of Coinbase’s public offering application in 2021. Armstrong stated to the SEC that its filings “clearly described” its asset listing procedure and “included 57 references to staking.”

In a subsequent tweet, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said that the SEC offered “no clear rule book” on cryptocurrency rules and that “efforts to engage with the SEC are greeted with silence or enforcement actions.”

Both CEOs seem eager to utilize the “legal process” to provide regulatory clarity to the cryptocurrency business.

Armstrong said, “We are happy to stand up for our consumers and the industry in difficult times.”

“Going forward the legal process will provide an open and public forum before an unbiased body where we will be able to make clear for all to see that the SEC simply has not been fair, reasonable, or even demonstrated a seriousness of purpose when it comes to its engagement on digital assets.”

Although other companies, such as Kraken, negotiated a deal with the SEC that obliged them to cease selling staking services to U.S. consumers, Armstrong has consistently said that Coinbase’s staking services are not securities and that the company would defend this stance in court if necessary.

The current warning has been extensively criticized by the cryptocurrency industry, with many believing that the SEC has altered its previous stance on Coinbase.

Several have also shown their support for Coinbase, with many seeming to agree that Coinbase would fight on behalf of the whole U.S. cryptocurrency business as a lack of regulatory clarity pushes activity overseas.