Coinbase Petitions to Dismiss SEC Lawsuit Over Crypto Regulation

Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States, has filed a petition to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in June.

Coinbase’s attorneys filed a motion for judgment with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on August 4, alleging that the SEC “violated due process, abused its discretion, and abandoned its own earlier interpretations of the securities laws” in asserting regulatory authority over the cryptocurrency exchange.

The legal team cited precedent from the SEC v. Ripple case, in which a judge ruled that XRP did not qualify as a security under the commission’s current criteria.

Coinbase’s filing specifically disputed that transactions involving the 12 tokens at issue in the SEC case met the definition of “investment contracts” under the Howey test and that the exchange was operating as an unregistered broker, and argued that the commission’s challenges to its staking program “fail as a matter of law.”

The crypto company has asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the SEC’s enforcement action was “punitive” and an overreach of its congressionally granted authority.

On June 6, roughly three months after the exchange received a Wells notice from the federal regulator, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase.

The company has consistently denied the SEC’s allegations that its activities may violate securities laws.

On August 3, during an earnings call, it announced that it would file a motion to dismiss.

The SEC is also pursuing enforcement actions against Binance and Hex founder Richard Heart, in addition to Coinbase.

Recently, U.S. lawmakers enacted legislation through committees that, if signed into law, would restructure the commission’s authority over digital assets.