Coinbase’s Top Lawyer Calls SEC Wells Notice a ‘Massive Overreach’ - Ep. 472

Unchained

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, shares his concerns about the SEC’s recent warning that it would pursue legal action against the crypto exchange. With the U.S. markets regulator failing to provide clear rules on digital assets, Grewal discusses the implications for Coinbase and for the future of crypto in the United States.

Show highlights:

• why Grewal was not surprised by the Wells notice
• how Coinbase asked the SEC multiple times for clear rules and got no response, according to Grewal
• how the SEC is withholding information about which rules Coinbase allegedly broke, according to Grewal
• Coinbase’s efforts to disclose everything about its operations
• whether Grewal thinks there was a change in the regulators’ approach after the collapse of FTX
• why Grewal thinks this is not the right way to go to keep crypto in the United States
• the jurisdictional fight between the CFTC and the SEC
• whether Coinbase will proceed with litigation
• why Grewal thinks the Wells notice is a “shot at crypto as a whole”
• why Coinbase believes that its products are “fully compliant”
• what opportunities the U.S. Congress has to legislate blockchain technology

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Guest

Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at Coinbase

• Previous appearances on Unchained: Just a Coincidence? Coinbase and Polygon Lawyers See Bad Omens in SEC Crackdown

Links

• Coinbase:
• We asked the SEC for reasonable crypto rules for Americans. We got legal threats instead.
• The Crypto Securities Market is Waiting to be Unlocked. But First We Need Workable Rules.
• Unchained:
• SEC Issues Coinbase a Wells Notice
• U.S. Supreme Court Hears First Crypto Case: Coinbase Arbitration Dispute
• Bloomberg: Coinbase (COIN) Gets SEC Wells Notice Over Crypto Offerings

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