Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Legal Director, announced that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) identified inconsistencies in its legal claims. He expressed this opinion based on the SEC’s responsive affidavit filed in the Lejilex case.
Lejilex Case
In the Lejilex case, the SEC argued that the issue of whether digital asset transactions are securities transactions is not determined by the nature of the asset. However, Grewal noted that the SEC argued the opposite to Judge Failla.
Grewal claimed that the SEC shared different views with one judge and different views with another judge. The Coinbase executive stated that he did not expect this level of inconsistency from US authorities. Coinbase has been supporting Lejilex against the SEC for the past few months.
“We will do everything to provide regulatory clarity for cryptocurrency investors.” – Grewal
The company filed an Amicus Brief in July to support Lejilex against the SEC’s intervention. Coinbase, the largest US-based cryptocurrency exchange (by volume), is demanding that the SEC provide regulatory clarity for the crypto industry.
Ripple Fight with SEC
In the case between Coinbase and the SEC, the SEC wanted to extend the discovery period from October 18 to February 18. During this delay, the Coinbase exchange filed an action with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) requesting that the SEC contact the issuers of the 12 tokens named in the related case. This step will assist the case in the Southern District of New York.
Blockchain-based payment infrastructure company Ripple 
$0.511683 Labs is one of the companies under pressure from the SEC. The SEC has been pursuing its case with Ripple for almost 4 years and recently appealed the decision regarding XRP’s security status.
Lawyers who support Ripple think that the SEC will face a negative result this time too. In particular, the SEC’s contradictions have been the main discussion topics of many cryptocurrency cases. In many cases, such as the Lejilex case, the regulator described these as personnel errors. In fact, in one of the hearings attended by the SEC, the inconsistent stance of the lawyers against XRP Coin caused harsh criticism from the Judge.
It is unclear how much these inconsistencies will affect the authorities’ decision during the appeals process. If the SEC produces evidence that will more clearly prove the business relationship between Ripple and XRP Coin, we may see the decision overturned.
The solidarity shown by companies in the crypto industry in legal processes is considered an important step to overcome the difficulties faced by the industry. Eliminating regulatory uncertainties is critical for the healthy development of the crypto economy. Trump said that he would take the necessary steps on this issue if elected.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that crypto currencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should carry out their transactions in line with their own research.
