Coinbase’s SEC Showdown: A Legal Drama with a Happy Ending! 🎉

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After what felt like a never-ending episode of a courtroom drama—complete with all the suspense of a soap opera—the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to drop its litigation against Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN). Yes, you heard that right! After 18 months of legal wrangling, Coinbase announced on Friday that the SEC staff has agreed in principle to dismiss the case, which began back in June 2023. Talk about a plot twist! 🎭

Brian Armstrong, the CEO and co-founder of Coinbase, must be feeling like he just won the lottery. The SEC is reportedly planning to dismiss the case with a grand total of $0 in fines and absolutely no changes to the company’s business operations. I mean, who knew that fighting the SEC could be so… inexpensive?

“After years of litigation, millions of your taxpayer dollars spent, and irreparable harm done to the country, we reached an agreement with SEC staff to dismiss their litigation against Coinbase. Once approved by the Commission (which we’re told to expect next week) this would be a full dismissal, with $0 in fines paid and zero changes to our business,” Armstrong noted.

Coinbase Credits Donald Trump on Victory Against SEC

In a surprising twist that could only happen in America, Armstrong decided to give a shout-out to the Trump administration for allegedly halting the crypto regulation train wreck that was barreling down the tracks under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Apparently, the Trump administration laid down some measures to make digital assets as mainstream as avocado toast. 🥑

“I have to give credit here to the Trump administration […] I feel confident we would have won this case in the courts either way, given our facts were so strong, but it certainly helped accelerate the process and drive accountability,” Armstrong added.

Looking ahead, Armstrong mentioned that Coinbase plans to cozy up to the current SEC administration, led by Paul Atkins, Mark Uyeda, and Hester Peirce, along with the D.O.G.E department (yes, that’s a thing now) to pave the way for clear crypto legislation. Because nothing says “trust us” like a bunch of regulators and a dog-themed department. 🐶

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) February 21, 2025

Impact on Wider Crypto Market

The end of the SEC’s litigation against Coinbase is expected to send shockwaves through the wider cryptocurrency market. The SEC has even hit the pause button on litigation against Binance Holdings for 60 days, with results likely to mirror the Coinbase saga. It’s like a sequel nobody asked for, but here we are!

Ripple Labs and the XRP community are holding their breath, hoping for a similar outcome in their ongoing case, especially after a judge ruled that the altcoin is not a security if it’s traded on crypto exchanges. It’s like a legal game of hot potato, and everyone wants to be the last one holding the spud.

Following the announcement, Bitcoin








price rallied over 2 percent to trade above $99k on Friday during the mid-New York session. The wider altcoin market also joined the party, pumping the total crypto market cap to about $3.38 trillion at the time of this writing. It’s a crypto celebration, folks! 🎉

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2025-02-21 19:38