Crypto Exchange Coinbase (COIN) Responds to the SEC’s Lawsuit

In its first legal response to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit, crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) claimed that digital assets listed on its platform fall outside the regulator’s (SEC) purview. The SEC sued Coinbase at the beginning of June, alleging that a dozen of the cryptocurrencies offered through its wallet or trading platforms were unregistered securities. In its answer, filed early Thursday, Coinbase claimed that these cryptos are not investment contracts and therefore not securities. It’s an argument Coinbase has advanced before in public statements, but Thursday’s filing goes into further detail explaining the company’s position: cryptos on the exchange’s secondary market platform are not part of any arrangements where a promoter is selling an asset tied to a contract, said the company, referring to language in the Supreme Court’s precedent-setting Howey case.