Coinbase Receives Wells Notice From SEC, Denys Any Wrongdoing

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) has received a Wells Notice, and it’s not happy about it to say the least.

In a blog post on its website, the company this evening published a post entitled, “We asked the SEC for reasonable crypto rules for Americans. We got legal threats instead,” wherein they describe how they obtained a Wells Notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission after requesting a resolution to uncertainty surrounding crypto assets. The firm, after an investigation conducted last year, reporting requested a resolution that would include “registering some portion of [their] business with the SEC.”

The company did not hold back in the battle it has had in seeking regulatory certainty from the commission, commenting that they provided two different potential registration models for the exchange, and others in the crypto space.

“We developed and proposed two different registration models. We spent millions of dollars on legal support to build these proposals and repeatedly asked for the SEC’s feedback. We got none. We also reiterated that we stand by our listings process – we don’t list securities today – and repeatedly invited the SEC to raise any questions about any asset at all on our platform. They raised none,” they wrote.

The company reportedly met with the regulator over thirty times in a period of nine months, with the SEC promising to provide feedback in January 2023. Instead, the agency instead is said to have returned to an enforcement investigation against the firm.

The Wells Notice itself is said to be related to the firms listed digital assets, as well as its staking service known as Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime, and its Wallet product. The notice itself does not mean that the company has been charged with wrongdoing just yet, but that staff at the agency have recommended enforcement action for possible violations of securities law.

Coinbase meanwhile maintains that it “does not list securities or offer products to [their] customers that are securities.”

Information for this briefing was found via Edgar, the SEC, and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.