Coinbase has been the talk of the crypto industry in April as news of its potential headquarters relocation from the US headlined many platforms. The crypto giant had looked into the relocation option due to regulatory scrutiny and lack of clarity from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In previous efforts to get the needed clarity to operate freely and offer crypto services to their US customers, the US-based crypto trading platform asked the SEC for reasonable crypto rules and regulations for Americans. This move made by Coinbase was met with legal threats from the regulator and a Wells notice.
Coinbase Receives SEC Wells Notice
As reported on Coinbase official blog, the SEC issued a Wells notice last month to the crypto company after it solicited for reasonable crypto regulations to serve its American users.
The Wells notice issued by the SEC pointed fingers at an “undefined portion” of the company’s listed digital assets, its staking service, and other solutions such as its wallet and earn feature.
Coinbase received the notice with utter disappointment and said that its crypto exchange is “confident in the legality of assets and services provided to its users and customers.”
A report made last month by the crypto company stated that they are ready to go through a legal process to provide the clarity they have been pushing forward to the SEC if necessary.
CEO Brian Armstrong Responds Firmly
As of April 27, 2023, the CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, and chief legal officer Paul Grewal provided a video and written submission in response to the SEC Wells notice issued against the crypto company.
In the submission, Armstrong made firm statements saying that “Coinbase is the same company as they were two years ago when the SEC approved their operations and going public.” He also stated that even without regulatory clarity, they have tried to do the right thing and demonstrated good faith as a crypto exchange and trading platform.
In his message to the SEC, as seen on the video submission, Armstrong said that Coinbase is willing and committed to working within the regulatory perimeter and that the crypto company would want to see a clear market structure for trading crypto securities.
He concluded by saying that at this stage and time where there is no clear rule book for crypto operations, a ‘Wells notice from the SEC is not constructive and is not good for America.”
Armstrong said they would prefer and welcome a true dialogue with the SEC, but if push comes to shove, they are prepared to defend their position in court.