Bitcoin is struggling to stay above $26,000 Tuesday as the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Coinbase Global Inc., the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., with operating an unregistered national securities exchange, brokerage and clearing agency.
The agency brought up the charges against Coinbase
COIN,
-12.09%
one day after it sued Binance Holdings Inc., the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its founder Changpeng Zhao with 13 securities law violations.
Bitcoin
BTCUSD,
+1.19%
gained 1.6% on Tuesday but still fell 1% over the past 24 hours to around $26,042 on Tuesday, according to CoinDesk data. The cryptocurrency has gained 55% so far this year, but is still down over 60% from its all-time high in 2021.
Ether
ETHUSD,
+0.46%
declined 0.5% over the past 24 hours to $1,843 and Binance Coin fell 2.1% to $278.
Coinbase’s shares plunged 13% Tuesday, according to FactSet data.
SEC’s actions reflect U.S. regulators’ latest moves to increase oversight of the crypto industry. Coinbase said in March that it received a Wells notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which could lead to formal charges.
Coinbase will continue to operate its business as usual, the company said. “The SEC’s reliance on an enforcement-only approach in the absence of clear rules for the digital asset industry is hurting America’s economic competitiveness and companies like Coinbase that have a demonstrated commitment to compliance,” Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at Coinbase wrote in emailed comments.
“The solution is legislation that allows fair rules for the road to be developed transparently and applied equally, not litigation,” according to Grewal.
Coinbase and Binance together account for 70% of crypto trade volumes, according to data from Kaiko.
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