Coinbase has taken its legal battle with the SEC to the U.S. Court of Appeals, seeking a clear ruling on whether cryptocurrency trades in secondary markets qualify as securities.
The exchange argues that resolving this issue is vital for the digital asset industry, which faces regulatory inconsistencies and unclear oversight.
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase in June 2023, accusing it of operating as an unregistered securities exchange and failing to comply with securities laws.
Coinbase counters that transactions on its platform are simple asset sales, not securities deals, as they do not involve ongoing commitments or rights tied to issuers, unlike traditional securities such as stocks or bonds.
In its latest appeal, Coinbase emphasized the importance of creating consistent legal standards for the industry, pointing to conflicting rulings in other cases involving Ripple Labs and Terraform Labs.
The exchange believes this case offers a prime opportunity to address the ambiguity surrounding secondary market crypto transactions and provide much-needed clarity for the future of digital asset trading.
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