The risk disclosure of Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US, has been altered to suggest a stronger determination to oppose what it views as excessive regulatory interference from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Coinbase modified its risk disclosure as stated in its earnings report, which Axios reported first. The important update is that Coinbase’s risk disclosure now mentions that it will only remove cryptocurrency assets accused by the SEC of being securities after a court ruling upholds the regulator’s allegation.
“We may determine not to remove a particular crypto asset from Coinbase Spot Market even if the SEC or another regulator alleges that the crypto asset is a security,” reads the latest addition to the firm’s risk disclosure.
Coinbase has previously demonstrated a willingness to dispute the SEC’s categorization of tokens available on its platform. Earlier, the SEC had accused nine tokens listed on Coinbase of being securities in a lawsuit against former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi and two others accused of insider trading. Coinbase, on the other hand, expressed trust in its process for listing assets and maintained that none of the cryptocurrencies listed on its platform qualified as securities.
Despite the SEC’s allegation that nine tokens listed on Coinbase were securities, the crypto exchange continues to offer six of these assets for trading many months later.
Coinbase’s updated risk disclosure coincides with the SEC’s heightened efforts to enforce crypto-related regulations, particularly concerning crypto staking and stablecoins. These are critical components of the crypto industry. Coinbase is heavily engaged in these areas, as indicated in its earnings report, which shows a notable portion of its revenue comes from the interest earned on USDC reserves.
Based on Coinbase’s recent actions and statements, it appears that the crypto exchange is preparing for a potential battle with regulators.
“Coinbase’s staking services are not securities,” Coinbase chief Brian Armstrong recently said. “We will happily defend this in court if needed.”
Read article: Ripple Transfers $39.2M Worth XRP and 85M Tokens Moved by Whales
Wait, What About XRP?
Many XRP holders question whether Coinbase’s updated risk disclosure implies a potential reversal of its decision to stop supporting XRP. Coinbase delisted XRP after the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple and its executives, claiming that XRP was an unregistered security.
When Coinbase stopped supporting XRP, many XRP holders were disheartened, given that the firm had conducted a thorough analysis and consulted with the SEC before listing the asset. As a result, some members of the XRP community are now questioning whether the recent change to Coinbase’s risk disclosure might prompt the exchange to reconsider listing XRP. This has led to the trending hashtag “RelistXRP” on Twitter.
There is speculation that Coinbase may be planning to relist XRP after announcing a significant event scheduled for today. However, there is little supporting evidence to suggest that this is the case.
