In a significant legal development, the renowned trading platform “Coinbase” has been asked by the U.S. regulatory authority, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to halt trading of all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin before facing a lawsuit. This comes amid increasing controversy over the classification of cryptocurrencies as securities. Consequently, this decision has placed Coinbase in a legal confrontation with the SEC, focusing primarily on whether cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin should be considered securities or not.

• Coinbase received a recommendation from the U.S. regulatory authority, SEC, to cease trading all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin before facing legal action. As a result, the company was forced to turn to the court based on this recommendation.
• Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, announced that the SEC advised the company to abandon trading all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin before filing the lawsuit against them. He added that this advice compelled them to resort to the court.
• Brian Armstrong’s statements revealed that the SEC considered all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin as securities. This classification was made before the lawsuit was filed against Coinbase. This suggests that the SEC views Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, as a security. It’s worth noting that there are differing opinions among SEC members and employees regarding the classification of cryptocurrencies, and these views may not necessarily represent the stance of the entire institution.

The classification of cryptocurrencies in the United States remains a subject of wide debate, and it’s important to note that the legal confrontation between Coinbase and the SEC reflects the complexity and sensitivity of the issue. Despite the growing debate on whether cryptocurrencies are considered securities or not, the emphasis remains on the importance of clarifying the legal classification of these new financial assets.