Coinbase an’ SEC Heading Fo’ One Big Showdown Kine Clash

🤜💥🤛📉 Coinbase wen’ make dea debut on top da US stock market on April 14, 2021, da same day wen US senators wen’ confarm Gary Gensler fo’ lead da Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – da big kahuna fo’ market regulation in da country. 🗓️🇺🇸

Gensler stay calling da crypto world one “Wild West” full of fraud. 😈🌵 Now, he stay all mix up in one fight wit’ da biggest publicly-traded crypto company ova da big question: if digital assets stay like investment contracts like stocks o’ bonds an’ if da SEC should be da one fo’ regulate um. 🤔💰

Da friction between da crypto supporters an’ da regulators stay getting moa intense unda Gensler’s watch, an’ both sides stay getting moa loud wit’ dea criticisms. 🔊👊

Da heat wen’ reach da breaking point on top one Wednesday wen Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong an’ da company’s head legal guy Paul Grewal wen’ put online dat da SEC staff stay planning fo’ recommend enforcement action. Dey wen’ add dat Coinbase stay ready fo’ fight um in court. ⚖️🥊

Coinbase shares wen’ drop 12% since dat disclosure on top Wednesday. 📉😬

Da SEC an’ Coinbase spokespeople no like talk story. Fo’ months, da two stay talking bout regulation an’ da agency’s investigation into Coinbase, according to two sources. 🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♂️

In July, da company wen’ let everybody know bout one SEC probe into how dey list assets, dea staking programs, an’ dea products fo’ generate yield. 🧐

Da talks between da SEC an’ Coinbase wen’ go south in recent weeks, wit’ one source saying da two sides wen’ move “further apart.” Da SEC stay looking like dey going aftah da whole Coinbase business as if dey stay operating outside da US laws, da source stay saying. 🚧🚓

Da crypto industry stay believing dey stay in one regulatory gray area wea existing US securities laws no apply, an’ dey stay saying dat new laws stay needed fo’ regulating da industry. 🌫️📜

“We stay continue fo’ tink dat making rules an’ legislation stay bettah fo’ defining da law fo’ our industry dan enforcement actions,” Coinbase’s Grewal stay saying on Wednesday. “But if necessary, we stay welcoming da chance fo’ Coinbase an’ da larger crypto community fo’ get clarity in court.” ⚖️🏛️

Befo’ Gensler wen’ show up, da SEC stay doin’ targeted enforcement. But da Democratic chair wen’ crank up da focus on top da crypto platforms demselves. Da SEC’s crackdown on crypto wen’ speed up aftah November wen’ Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange wen’ collapse. 💣💥

Gensler stay questioning if da crypto companies stay depending on one business model dat no stay compliant wit’ da law. He stay adding dat da crypto intermediaries stay providing plenty functions like operating as one exchange, broker-dealer, clearing agent, an’ custodian, dat should be regulated by da SEC. 🤨📊

“Dis stay probably existential fo’ Coinbase,” Joshua White, one finance professor at Vanderbilt University, wen’ say. “It’s perhaps existential fo’ da industry, at least in da US.” 🇺🇸🚀

Da SEC wen’ issue one investor alert on Thursday, warning dat da firms offering crypto asset securities maybe no stay complying wit’ US laws. ⚠️📝

Kristin Smith, da CEO of da Blockchain Association, wen’ voice da crypto industry association’s support fo’ Coinbase, sayin’: “Da SEC no stay making da law – dey only stay making allegations, which gotta be tested in da courts.” 👩‍💼🤝

Da SEC wen’ go court against plenty crypto companies, including one case against Ripple Labs Inc, da San Francisco-based crypto an’ cross-border payments company. Some stay saying dat case could bring clarity on wen one digital asset stay considered one security. ⚖️🌉

But da SEC an’ Coinbase debate ova one “unspecified portion” of dea listed digital assets stay setting da stage fo’ one moa big an’ potentially defining courtroom battle. Coinbase’s website stay showing ova 150 crypto assets fo’ trading. 💼🏦

Coinbase wen’ let everybody know bout da potential regulatory risks wen dey wen’ file fo’ go public in 2021. An’ dey wen’ say on Wednesday dat dea staking an’ exchange services stay “largely unchanged” since den. ⚠️🔄

“Could no be one moa significant development fo’ da crypto markets an’ da crypto investors,” Philip Moustakis, one former SEC enforcement lawyer an’ partner wit’ Seward & Kissel LLP in New York, wen’ say. 🗽💼🔍

So, dere ya have um, da big showdown between Coinbase an’ da SEC stay shaping up fo’ be one major event in da crypto an’ business world. No mattah wat, dis story stay one fo’ watch closely as da drama unfolds an’ da future of da crypto industry stay hanging in da balance. 🍿🎭🔮