Coinbase says the SEC has agreed to end ‘bogus’ enforcement case against crypto exchange

Coinbase announced Friday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to drop its enforcement case against the company, pending the approval of the regulator’s commissioners.

In 2023, the SEC charged Coinbase with operating an unregistered securities exchange and for failing to properly register its crypto staking program. However, the case was started under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler. The commission is expected to take a more friendly stance to the crypto industry under President Donald Trump and Paul Atkins, the current nominee for SEC chair.

Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” said that the company will not pay any fine. He said the agreement to end the case marks a “huge day” for Coinbase and the crypto industry at large.

“I think it’s a really important signal that, [after] a small group of activists in this prior administration who tried to unlawfully attack this industry, we’re going to be able to turn the page on that and finally get some regulatory clarity in America,” Armstrong said.

“I hope that they’ll dismiss all the bogus cases, frankly, and it will be a domino effect for the rest of the industry,” he said.

An SEC spokesperson declined to comment on Coinbase’s announcement Friday.

Shares of Coinbase opened higher on Friday but were little changed in late morning trading.

A key issue in the charges against Coinbase, and several other crypto cases under Gensler, was whether certain crypto assets counted as securities. The SEC argued that some crypto assets fell under existing securities laws, and therefore required additional registration and disclosure, while crypto exchanges and other digital asset firms pushed for a new set of rules.

Trump embraced crypto during his presidential campaign, attending the 2024 Bitcoin Conference and receiving financial donations from industry leaders. The president signed an executive order on Jan. 23 to establish a working group to draw up a regulatory framework for the crypto industry.

Crypto rallied in the aftermath of Trump’s election, with bitcoin breaking the $100,000 level for the first time. So-called meme coins have also seen a spike in popularity since the election, including a Trump coin pushed by the president shortly before his inauguration.