Tag Archives: Coinbase

Coinbase Warned By SEC Of Potential Securities Charges



The Securities and Exchange Commission issued crypto exchange Coinbase a Wells notice, warning the company that it identified potential violations of U.S. securities law, CNBC reported.

According to CNBC, Coinbase shares fell nearly 12% in extended trading after the news broke on Wednesday, adding to an 8.16% drop during regular trading hours.

“Based on discussions with the Staff, the Company believes these potential enforcement actions would relate to aspects of the Company’s spot market, staking service Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Wallet,” Coinbase said in a regulatory filing. “The potential civil action may seek injunctive relief, disgorgement, and civil penalties.”

CNBC also reported that the SEC has ramped up its enforcement of the crypto industry, bearing down on companies and projects that the regulator alleges were hawking unregistered securities. Reports first surfaced of an SEC probe into Coinbase in mid-2022.

Coinbase posted some information on its website. Here is from the TL:DR (too long, didn’t read) section:

“Today, the SEC gave Coinbase a “Wells notice” regarding an undefined portion of our listed digital assets, our staking service Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime, and Coinbase Wallet after a cursory investigation. We are prepared for this disappointing development. We are confident in the legality of our assets and services, and if needed, we welcome a legal process to provide the clarity we have been advocating for and to demonstrate that the SEC simply has not been fair or reasonable when it comes to its engagement on digital assets. Rest assured, Coinbase products and services continue to operate as usual – today’s news does not require any changes to our current products or services.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission has told Coinbase Global Inc. that it plans to take enforcement action against the company, escalating its crackdown on digital-currency firms by targeting the biggest U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase said Wednesday.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Coinbase said it received a letter from the SEC known as a Wells notice, in which regulators say they believe companies or individuals violated investor-protection laws. The notices aren’t final because the agency’s commissioners must authorize any lawsuits or enforcement settlements.

By warning Coinbase about a potential lawsuit, The Wall Street Journal reported, the SEC is setting its sights on one of the biggest names in crypto, a publicly traded company that has helped bring tens of millions of customers into the digital-currency markets since it was founded 2012.

A lawsuit would represent SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s biggest step to assert his agency’s jurisdiction over crypto. If Coinbase prevailed in a lawsuit, it would embolden the crypto industry’s claims that Mr. Gensler has overreached and that virtual currencies shouldn’t be subject to U.S. securities laws.

TechCrunch reported that in response to receiving a Wells notice from the FTC, Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong struck a confident posture, tweeting that his company is “right on the law, confident in the facts, and welcome the opportunity for Coinbase (and by extension the broader crypto community) to get before a court.”

In a separate tweet, Armstrong wrote: “Two years ago the SEC reviewed our business in detail and approved Coinbase to go public. Our S1 clearly explained our asset listing process and included 57 references to staking. Coinbase runs a rigorous asset review process and has rejected more than 90% of assets that have applied to be listed on the platform.”

It is unclear to me exactly how this particular situation will end up. I suppose there will eventually be an announcement if something changes.


Coinbase Now Supports Ethereum



Ethereum logoIf you think the world of cryptocurrency is limited only to Bitcoin, you are mistaken. There are a number of other digital currency systems currently in operation. One of these is called Ethereum, which is self-described as:

Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference.

These apps run on a custom built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent the ownership of property. This enables developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, move funds in accordance with instructions given long in the past (like a will or a futures contract) and many other things that have not been invented yet, all without a middle man or counterparty risk.

Ether is the appropriately named currency of the Ethereum network. Cryptocurrency trading company Coinbase recently added support for Ether. Coinbase users can buy, sell, and trade Ether directly from their Coinbase accounts:

In May, we added Ethereum trading on GDAX, our professional digital asset exchange. With the addition of Ethereum on Coinbase, consumers in 32 countries can acquire Ether and take part in an open financial system facilitated by Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Honestly, I don’t really understand any of this. But if you want to learn more about Ethereum, Coinbase has posted a helpful information page that may (?) provide some clarity.


Bitcoin Service Coinbase Adds Support for PayPal and Credit Cards



Cornborse logoBitcoin, the cryptocurrency that started out as a technological curiosity, has grown rapidly in the last couple years. Bitcoin adoption has been on the rise, and this has prompted the development of tools and services that help Bitcoin users convert their digital money into real-world cash. Coinbase, one of the larger Bitcoin players in the market, described itself from the beginning as a “PayPal-like” service, where users could log in and convert Bitcoin to cash, or vice versa.

Expanding its efforts to make Bitcoin exchanges even easier, Coinbase recently announced it will be adding support for PayPal and credit cards. From a Coinbase e-mail sent earlier this week:

One of our objectives at Coinbase is to add as many funding mechanisms as possible to make exchanging digital currency easy. As a step in that direction, Coinbase now accepts PayPal (for bitcoin sells) and credit cards (for bitcoin buys).

It’s worth noting that Coinbase isn’t using both of these new services for everything. As the e-mail states. Coinbase users will be able to use PayPal when selling Bitcoin, and they’ll be able to use credit cards for Bitcoin purchases. Previously, Coinbase only conducted transactions thru registered bank accounts.

These new payment systems are currently in beta, but they are accessible to most Coinbase users.


Coinbase and Shift Launch Bitcoin Debit Card



Shift debit cardBitcoin. It’s the cryptocurrency some of us love, and some of us hate. It’s demise is being constantly predicted by tech pundits. Yet, it continues to endure. Despite what the naysayers think, there are plenty of companies trying to find ways to expand the reach of Bitcoin. Two such companies have now teamed up to release a new Bitcoin debit card.

Bitcoin exchange Coinbase recently joined forces with payment processor Shift. Together, they’re launching a Bitcoin debit card that carries the Visa logo:

Whether your currency is new or old shouldn’t matter. Bitcoin is now accepted online and offline at over 38 million merchants worldwide. Case closed.

The process is fairly simple. Load some Bitcoin into your Coinbase account. Sign up for the debit card thru Shift and then link the two accounts. Once everything’s done, you can now pay for virtually anything with Bitcoin where Visa debit cards are accepted.

If you’d like to make it easier to spend your own Bitcoin like “real money,” keep in mind that the Shift debit card does carry some fees. For example, there’s a $10 fee for the issuance of a plastic card (which also goes for replacement cards), there’s a $2.50 fee for using the Bitcoin card at an ATM, and a 3% fee for all international transactions. However, there are no annual fees or fees on domestic transactions. However, both Coinbase and Shift reserve the right to start charging fees on domestic transactions in the future.

You can learn more about the new Bitcoin debit card at the Coinbase blog.