US Regulators Tighten Supervision Of Domestic Crypto Exchange

JAKARTA - The head of crypto exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, recently revealed that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked the US-largest crypto exchange to stop trading all 200 cryptocurrencies listed on its platform, except Bitcoin. This request came before the SEC finally sued Coinbase in early June 2023.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Coinbase CEO explained that the SEC believes that every cryptocurrency, except Bitcoin, qualifies as a'securities'. It appears that this federal securities regulator is trying to assert its authorities in overseeing the wider crypto market section.

In its lawsuit, the US SEC designated the 13 most-traded digital assets on Coinbase as securities, and regulators confirmed that continuing trading these assets would make this exchange under SEC surveillance.

However, Armstrong insists that the SEC's views are not in line with their legal interpretation of cryptocurrencies. He revealed that his party refused to hide the facts and chose not to remove all assets other than Bitcoin, as requested by the SEC.

According to Armstrong, if Coinbase gives up on the SEC's demands, then this could open up wrong precedents and result in most US crypto businesses operating outside the law unless they register with the Commission.

Last month, Coinbase had taken steps to dismiss all allegations from the US SEC. The company stated that although they were not listed as brokers at the SEC, they firmly denied offering crypto assets as tradable securities.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, stressed his openness to engage in dialogue with financial supervisors and advocates to develop new laws and regulations in the future. This shows Coinbase's willingness to comply with applicable regulations and collaborate with relevant authorities to maintain the integrity of the crypto industry.

This situation is in the spotlight because it can affect the direction of regulation in the digital currency sector in the US. In the future, the next development of this case will remain a concern for both market players and crypto users around the world.