The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission just sent a Wells Notice to the crypto exchange Coinbase.
The notice says the agency has made a “preliminary determination” to recommend the agency file an enforcement action against Coinbase for allegedly violating securities laws.
Coinbase says the action is centered on an undisclosed number of its listed crypto assets, as well as its staking service Coinbase Earn, its institutional platform Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Wallet.
“Today, the SEC gave Coinbase a ‘Wells Notice’ regarding an undefined portion of our listed digital assets, our staking service Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime, and Coinbase Wallet after a cursory investigation. We are prepared for this disappointing outcome.
We are confident in the legality of our assets and services, and if needed, we welcome a legal process to provide the clarity we have been advocating for and to demonstrate that the SEC simply has not been fair or reasonable when it comes to its engagement on digital assets. Rest assured, Coinbase products and services continue to operate as usual – today’s news does not require any changes to our current products or services.”
The move follows a new SEC lawsuit levied against Tron founder Justin Sun and celebrities Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Soulja Boy, Austin Mahone, Kendra Lust, Lil Yachty, Ne-Yo and Akon.
That lawsuit accuses the celebrities of promoting the Tron ecosystem without disclosure, and accuses Sun of selling Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent Token (BTT) as unregistered securities.
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