XRP supporter and lawyer John Deaton is weighing in on the possibility of Coinbase emerging victorious in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the US-based crypto exchange.
Speaking at the iConnections Global Alts conference, Deaton says Coinbase has a “big” chance of getting SEC’s lawsuit tossed out before going into trial.
The SEC filed the lawsuit in June of 2023, accusing Coinbase of “operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.” In the same month, Coinbase filed a motion to dismiss the SEC’s suit against it.
Says Deaton,
“Right now they have a motion to dismiss, and normally at this stage a motion to dismiss, as a lawyer, I would tell you has a 5% chance at best. I put Coinbase’s up near the 40% range, which is big for a motion to dismiss.”
Deaton also predicts that Coinbase will emerge victorious even if a court decides to take the lawsuit to full trial.
“But ultimately they’re going to win. The question is do they win at the District Court level, do they win at the Second Circuit?
Everyone agrees that if it gets to the Supreme Court, the current makeup of the Supreme Court, they’re going to invoke major questions.
The thing is this… One out of four adults [in the US] own crypto. People in the United States want access to this asset class. And so what we’re seeing right now is the control factor.”
Earlier this month, hedge fund veteran Anthony Scaramucci reportedly said Coinbase is likely to prevail over the SEC at some point as the lawsuit moves through the courts.
“The Coinbase case will be a very big, instrumental case. I predict we will win that case. And by the way, we may lose it here. But [Coinbase CEO] Brian Armstrong will win it in the Supreme Court.”
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