Why the SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Is So Significant for Crypto

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On Wednesday, a federal court in New York heard oral arguments in Coinbase’s motion to dismiss the SEC’s case against it for, among other things, allegedly acting as an unregulated securities exchange. Notably, Judge Katherine Polk Failla pressed the SEC to explain how it has jurisdiction over Coinbase in the case by defining what it considers a security.

Sam Enzer, a partner at Cahill Gorden & Reindel who represents Coinbase but not in this matter, joined Unchained to discuss why this case is so significant for the crypto industry, how he believes the government contradicted itself on the crucial definition of what constitutes a security, why he thinks the judge will not dismiss the case at this early stage, how the Ripple and Terraform Labs cases could be used by each side, and why he thinks Judge Failla is such a perfect choice to rule in this case.

Show highlights:

• Why SEC v Coinbase holds important implications for the U.S. crypto ecosystem
• What the SEC alleges against Coinbase, focusing on its trading platform, wallet, and staking services
• How Coinbase forcefully counters the SEC's claims as it strives to get the case dismissed
• What the “major questions doctrine” entails and its critical role in this dispute
• Why Sam perceives the judge as “extremely skeptical” of the SEC's stance
• Whether inconsistencies surfaced in the SEC lawyers' arguments
• What “strict liability” means and its frequent mention in this legal battle
• What takeaways from the Ripple and Terraform Labs cases offer about secondary market sales
• Why Sam believes Judge Katherine Polk Failla is exceptionally well-suited for this case
• Whether Judge Failla might reject the motion to dismiss, and when
  

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Guest

Sam Enzer, partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel

Previous appearances on Unchained:

Why SBF's Testimony So Far Has Likely Already Doomed Him

Another Bad Week for Sam Bankman-Fried in His Criminal Trial

Why These Lawyers Say It's Over for SBF-But His Only Hail Mary Is to Testify

SBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His Case

SBF’s Lawyers Could Be Annoying the Judge How Might That Impact the Trial?

Links

Previous coverage of Unchained on the Coinbase case and the topic of securities:

SEC Sues Binance, Coinbase: ‘This Is Not the End of Crypto in the United States’

These 2 Crypto Trading Platforms Agree With SEC Chair Gary Gensler

Coinbase’s Legal Action Against the SEC: How It Will Likely Unfold

‘Is ETH a Security?’ Why Gary Gensler Couldn’t Give Congress a Straight Answer

Gary Gensler vs. Crypto: What Will the SEC Attack Next?

Rep. Emmer on Why He Believes Gary Gensler Is a ‘Bad-Faith Regulator’

Coinbase vs. SEC

Unchained:

Federal Judge Presses SEC Over Jurisdiction in Case Against Coinbase

SEC Sues Coinbase for Breaking Securities Laws

SEC Files Motion to Freeze Binance’s Assets, Asks for ‘Sworn Accounting’

SEC Files 13 Charges Against Binance Including the Mishandling of Funds, Sale of Unregistered Securities

SEC Calls Solana, Polygon, Algorand and Other Tokens Securities but Misses Ether in Binance Lawsuit

Cointelegraph: Senator Lummis files amicus brief supporting Coinbase’s dismissal motion against SEC.

Other cases

Kraken

CNBC: Crypto exchange Kraken settles with SEC for $30 million, will close US staking operation

XRP

Unchained: SEC vs Ripple: Judge Rules XRP Sold on Exchanges Is Not a Security

Terraform Labs

Reuters: Judge sides with US SEC, says Terraform Labs crypto founder Do Kwon violated law

Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz.