Coinbase CEO Says SEC Told It To Delist Everything But Bitcoin: Report

[BADecker]

Standard government activity of late. Since it hasn't gone to trial, the SEC isn't required to give Coinbase discovery. But why wouldn't they? They will have to if they want to continue with a trial. Simply a bunch of bank-pushing BS against crypto.


Coinbase CEO Says SEC Told It To Delist Everything But Bitcoin: Report


https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/coinbase-ceo-says-sec-told-it-delist-everything-bitcoin-report
In a July 31 interview with the Financial Times, Armstrong revealed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wanted the exchange to delist the nearly 250 tokens on its platform prior to it filing a lawsuit against the exchange.

At the time, the SEC reportedly said it believes "every asset other than Bitcoin is a security," said Armstrong.

"We said, well how are you coming to that conclusion? Because that's not our interpretation of the law," Armstrong added.

He recounted that the regulator said, "we're not going to explain it to you; you need to delist every asset other than Bitcoin."

It's a similar view held by SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who claimed in a February New York Magazine interview that "everything other than Bitcoin" is a security under the agency's remit.

Armstrong said that agreeing to the SEC's request could've set a precedent and "would have essentially meant the end of the crypto industry" in the United States.

"It kind of made it an easy choice [...] Let's go to court and find out what the court says."

The SEC sued Coinbase in early June, alleging it operated as an unregistered exchange and named 13 cryptocurrencies it said Coinbase offered as unregistered securities. Days earlier, the regulator filed a similar complaint against Binance.

The SEC told the Financial Times its enforcement division does not make formal requests for "companies to delist crypto assets" but that its staff may share its view on what actions could violate securities laws.
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[mindrust]

I don’t see a problem here. We all know bitcoin is the only crypto that matters in the long run. Even eth and the others will die off in the future but btc will keep going. The SEC is actually giving a wise advice to Coinbase and the baldy CEO of Coinbase should listen to it.

I am pretty sure Coinbase used to be a btc/usd only exchange and if they could do it in the past, they can do it now. The regulators will be happy, the bitcoiners will be  happy, the baldy will get to keep his business… win win win for everyone (everyone but shitcoiners)

[Volgastallion]

The other cryptos are always in babysteps compared to Bitcoin, so i dont see it bad at all.

And also most of them are not reliable neither in price stability and also in changes made it by his owners or users.

Also to the traditional market its more reliable to show a good thing and solid like BTC and after that it was setled start to analize and offer other kind of crypto, by always with ton of cares.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

This are the kinds of regulations to face with centralized institutions when you're also centralized, before now they have been attacking bitcoin to be a source of financial crime haven for all manners of fraudulent acts, some even called bitcoin a scam cryptocurrency, but  then, i will wonder what they would have called other cryptocurrencies if bitcoin is really a scam, gradually and step by little the truth is getting unfolded of, we shall know were this will land if after delisting other cryptocurrencies will enable the government trust bitcoin and adopt it as a legal tender or not.

[cabron]

I don't know how much of the coinbase profit comes from altcoins but it must be huge as well as they refuse to do it.  They are going to go bankrupt in no time if they do. And then there are users staking in Coinbase as well.

Bitcoin is the only supported coin by the SEC while in the beginning, they prosecute BTC. Since the IRS is about to tax the staking of altcoins, they are demanding users report to IRS their stakes when this happens I guess they will also start liking shitcoins.

[Ultegra134]

I don't know how much of the coinbase profit comes from altcoins but it must be huge as well as they refuse to do it.  They are going to go bankrupt in no time if they do. And then there are users staking in Coinbase as well.

Bitcoin is the only supported coin by the SEC while in the beginning, they prosecute BTC. Since the IRS is about to tax the staking of altcoins, they are demanding users report to IRS their stakes when this happens I guess they will also start liking shitcoins.

Not all altcoins are shitcoins, though. We can't make such a bold statement when there are so many altcoins that have proven their worth and have a purpose in the cryptocurrency world. I don't disagree that there's an abundance of them that have absolutely no reason to exist, with hundreds popping up every single day, but we can't put them all in one basket. On top of that, if we suppose that all coins except Bitcoin are banned from exchanges, that would cause mayhem in the market and would definitely affect Bitcoin tremendously too. That would also eradicate any competition between different cryptocurrencies, turning investors away from them.

[DeathAngel]

Blackrock & other huge corps, institutions etc have listed Coinbase as their desired custodian & exchange in their Spot ETF filings. I wonder if this has something to do with that. Maybe the SEC wants to clean crypto up to legitimise bitcoin as an investment asset.

[Rikafip]

I am pretty sure Coinbase used to be a btc/usd only exchange and if they could do it in the past, they can do it now. The regulators will be happy, the bitcoiners will be  happy, the baldy will get to keep his business… win win win for everyone (everyone but shitcoiners)

Brian Armstrong definitely woulnd't be happy as altcoins make almost half of the Coinbase volume meaning he would lose shit load of profit if all people could trade there is bitcoin.

I mean, the fact that he decided to ignore SEC request and go to the court instead says how much it means to him/Coinbase.

[The Cryptovator]

Yesterday, I came across news stating that the SEC asking relo e all the trading pair except Bitcoin, rather they might consider requesting the shutdown of Coinbase. As Coinbase generates its revenue from various trading activities, a potential reduction to just one trading pair could lead to a loss of users. Even if Coinbase continues to operate, such actions could significantly impact its share price in the stock market. This situation poses a potential threat to the crypto industry, and some perceive it as part of the recent drama surrounding US regulatory actions, where certain businesses are hindered from starting operations if they don't align with government preferences.

[OgNasty]

I thought I saw that he actually denied the government said this and instead claimed it was a rumor. I guess I will have to take a look at his twitter account and clarify that for myself. I did also see that he said Coinbase was going to implement the Lightning Network. Considering how he seemingly always felt it was garbage, I could see that his company being faced with possibly only have Bitcoin trading could result in him extending an olive branch to the Bitcoin community.

[JoyMarsha]

The other cryptos are always in babysteps compared to Bitcoin, so i dont see it bad at all.

And also most of them are not reliable neither in price stability and also in changes made it by his owners or users.

Also to the traditional market its more reliable to show a good thing and solid like BTC and after that it was setled start to analize and offer other kind of crypto, by always with ton of cares.

Inasmuch as we don't see anything bad in these steps that SEC wants to take on Coinbase, let's not forget there are a good number of altcoins in the crypto space. Delisting all altcoins on the Coinbass exchange will send the wrong signal of what the crypto market is supposed to look like as a competitive market you won't get to find only bitcoin but other altcoins wanting to survive and give rise to a new price in the crypto space.

If SEC should succeed in this move on Coinbase, let it not come as a surprise when they will want more every other exchange to do the same, making them to have a monopoly over what goes on in all crypto exchanges. They will now dictate the amount of Bitcoin, exchange should begin to have or not

[serjent05]

The other cryptos are always in babysteps compared to Bitcoin, so i dont see it bad at all.

And also most of them are not reliable neither in price stability and also in changes made it by his owners or users.

Also to the traditional market its more reliable to show a good thing and solid like BTC and after that it was setled start to analize and offer other kind of crypto, by always with ton of cares.

Inasmuch as we don't see anything bad in these steps that SEC wants to take on Coinbase, let's not forget there are a good number of altcoins in the crypto space. Delisting all altcoins on the Coinbass exchange will send the wrong signal of what the crypto market is supposed to look like as a competitive market you won't get to find only bitcoin but other altcoins wanting to survive and give rise to a new price in the crypto space.

I am not a Bitcoin maximalist but I think that other cryptocurrencies are considered by SEC as security and being a security they need to comply with some of the regulations the government imposes.  And many of these altcoins are not complying reason why the SEC wanted to halt the transactions of these altcoins that they think are securities.  This means, those suspected as "security" must prove that they are not or comply with the requirement before they can proceed to normal activities.

If SEC should succeed in this move on Coinbase, let it not come as a surprise when they will want more every other exchange to do the same, making them to have a monopoly over what goes on in all crypto exchanges. They will now dictate the amount of Bitcoin, exchange should begin to have or not

IF SEC succeeds I can say that the Bitcoin market will surge while the other altcoin market will somehow collapse.

[tread93]

The SEC trying to get coinbase to change its name to bitcoinbase pretty much lol. Crazy year for regulating crypto, but honestly if they ended up delisting everything but BTC wouldn't that honestly be a good thing?

[rikybrosh]

i am sorry but i have different opinion with other members above, in my opinion not all altcoins are bad. I just feel that, ETH, BNB, TRX and other similar coin has good future, I think these altcoin only become competitors for bitcoin. these altcoin has their own target market, Bitcoin always be the number one so I think we should not worry about these altcoins. So I think if SEC still want it, then it will be better if coinbase delist bad altcoins only.

[dzungmobile]

The SEC trying to get coinbase to change its name to bitcoinbase pretty much lol. Crazy year for regulating crypto, but honestly if they ended up delisting everything but BTC wouldn't that honestly be a good thing?

BitcoinBase and USA BDC exchange is their most favorite name.

SEC did these attacks on behalf of the United States of American government including their central bank Federal Reserve. It is not easy for SEC to succeed because not all people in the Congress want to force all cryptocurrency companies, exchanges move their offices and operations out of USA.

They and USA citizens will fight back, Coinbase will fight back and SEC will fail. If they succeed, it won't last more than 4 years because each President election can make big changes in politics, economics and regulations.

[Darker45]

Perhaps the first reason why Armstrong didn't heed the SEC was that it was all just told to him. It didn't seem like an official order. Can it be legitimate that way? If I were Armstrong myself, I would just dismiss it right away, even if it were relayed in the form of a veiled threat. If it were an official communication from the SEC, then perhaps the CEO of Coinbase could have dignified it a bit.

Other than this, of course, Coinbase can afford lawyers. They can wait for official steps by the SEC and challenge them in court if need be.

[Sim_card]

Delisting all altcoin will cause a mayhem for Coinbase and the crypto market because coinbase makes more money from altcoin and the platform will be short of liquidity. This is another way of telling coinbase to shut down it's operation if it doesn't accept what SEC says. Going to court might help in this situation to see if there will be another solution for coinbase to operate without delisting all altcoin. Some investors have invested more on altcoins due to the fast pump. Come to think of it Bitcoin is the superior of all cryptocurrency and I see that SEC understands this and don't want their citizens to fall into the scam project of shitcoins. Though not all altcoins are shitcoins but majority of them and nobody knows what is the future for these few ones that has survived for a while now.

[adaseb]

How is an old coin like Litecoin considered a security? From what I understand it had no premine and it’s purely POW. Sure there is some speculation that the dev instamined a few blocks when it launched or used a early gpu miner while everyone was cpu mining. However it’s definitely not like xrp or ETH.

The sec really needs to switch their team around. Very unprofessional way to handle these issues. Especially since they let coinbase go public a few years back.

[buwaytress]

Coinbase or anyone would be ill-informed if they were surprised by this. Despite the claims of thousands of crypto (be they blockchains, currencies, tokens, apps like exchanges) to be decentralised, few, if any, truly are. In fact, the more they lay claim to being "decentralised", the less likely they are.

Funny enough, Bitcoin itself -- at least by early proponents and developers -- hardly mentions decentralisation. Proof in the action, rather than the saying, you know.

The SEC already acknowledged Bitcoin years ago, but could never truly believe anything else to be "decentralised" -- as recently as April they even warned so-called DEXes that they will be regarded as typical exchanges (and in the case of token-issuers like Uniswap, even issuers of securities).

[avikz]

So the encounter continues and this time it is Coinbase. Lol! US government is killing it's own business that they initially allowed to grow and get listed in the stock market. It's hilarious and disheartening at the same time.

Cryptocurrency must not be classified as a security. If SEC is so serious about this classification, they should allow all ETFs and all other bloody-bla requests to add Bitcoin in the stock market.

Coinbase - it's high time to move to Singapore!