Crypto Market in Freefall: SEC's Move Against Coinbase Crushes Bitcoin Prices

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase says it is confident in the legality of its assets and services and is ready to file a lawsuit.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• As investors feared a crackdown on the crypto industry, the market sentiment turned bearish.
• With its action against Coinbase, the SEC warns other crypto companies in the U.S. to comply with the regulations.

The U.S. Securities or Exchange Commission (SEC) signed a contract with cryptocurrency companies, and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) is the latest to face SEC action.

On Wednesday, March 22, the SEC issued Wells Notice to Coinbase regarding allegations regarding the listed digital assets, their staking services, and more. 

A Well Notice is essentially an early notice from the SEC to companies recommending that they likely take enforcement action for possible securities law violations. However, Coinbase says it believes in the legitimacy of its assets and services.  

The US-based cryptocurrency exchange also said it would go the legal route if necessary, adding that the SEC needed to be fairer in its exposure to digital assets.  

Coinbase also lashed out at the SEC for not providing enough information about its claims and claims, instead playing optic. He also said that they demanded sensible crypto rules from Americans, but in return, they were threatened by the SEC. I am writing to:

“We specifically asked the SEC to identify which of assets on our platform, they believed were securities, but they refused. It came after filing multiple registration proposals with the SEC over several months, but the SEC ultimately declined to act.” 

Bitcoin And Crypto Market Rights 

The SEC action against Coinbase is putting pressure on the booming cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen more than 3% in price and is currently trading at $27,395, giving it a market cap of $529 billion.  

Ethereum (ETH) is also down 3.50% to trade at $1,741 levels, while other altcoins are down in the 4% to 8% range. Another reason behind the recent pressure on the crypto space could be his Fed’s decision to raise interest rates by 25 basis points Wednesday, March 22. This development comes despite recent turmoil in the U.S. banking system.  

Crypto Industry Supports Coinbase  

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has expressed confidence in the recent SEC lawsuit, saying the move to court will help start the public debate. In a recent tweet on his thread, Armstrong wrote:  

“In the future, litigation should provide an open and public forum before an impartial panel and make it clear to everyone that the SEC was not fair, reasonable, or even seriously intentional regarding its commitments. You can use “Digital Assets”. 

In the meantime, Coinbase will continue to develop reliable products and services for its customers, he added. Armstrong also said that two years ago, when Coinbase sought to go public, the SEC conducted a thorough review of its business. He said Coinbase follows a “rigorous vetting process” for listing new tokens.