Coinbase CEO and Legal Officer Respond to SEC’s Wells Notice

US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and the company’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, responded to Wells’ notice issued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) weeks ago in preparation for enforcement action.

Recently on YouTube videoCoinbase executives insisted the SEC notice was unnecessary. The US government has yet to develop clear rules for the cryptocurrency industry, and the exchange’s commitment to regulatory compliance has not wavered.

Coinbase reacts to Wells’ notification via Vide

Remember, the SEC issued a notice against Coinbase on March 22 after a series of investigations, alleging that the platform offers unregistered securities. While announcing the development on Twitter the same day, Armstrong and Grewal expressed their disappointment with the agency for choosing a legal battle over constructive dialogue, which the exchange had been firing for in previous years.

As of that time, the executives said Coinbase was compliant with securities laws on its asset listings and storage services. They adhered to the same position and repeated their views yesterday in the video.

“We are committed to working within the regulatory perimeter, and we want to see a clear market structure for trading cryptocurrency securities. Not all crypto assets are securities. There are also crypto commodities, there are stablecoins, and there are cryptocurrencies that are a work of art. We will work with multiple regulators,” Armstrong said. To make the industry safe and reliable.

Coinbase doubles down on crypto framework demand

Moreover, the CEO argued that issuing Wells notice at this point, when America does not have a clear rulebook for the digital currency industry, is unconstructive and bad. He added that while Coinbase is willing to defend its position in court, it didn’t have to come to that, as the exchange is ready for a “real dialogue” with regulators about a path forward for the industry.

Around the same time the video was posted, Grewal was sitting on stage speaking to an audience in Austin, Texas, at Consensus 2023, a crypto event hosted by CoinDesk. The legal officer reiterated his opinion on the matter.

Along with Armstrong, Grewal insisted that Coinbase did not list the securities due to its aggressive operation under the direction of the SEC. He revealed that the stock exchange rejects about 90% of the assets that were reviewed for listing.