Coinbase, SEC present case to appeals court in petition for rulemaking case 

Coinbase’s team told a three-judge panel on Monday that the SEC has failed to provide a path for actors in the digital asset space

article-image

Coinbase and Adobe stock modified by Blockworks

share

In its continued effort to force the Securities and Exchange Commission to make new rules for the cryptocurrency industry, Coinbase faced off with the regulator in federal court Monday. 

Coinbase sued the SEC after its petition for rulemaking was denied. The case has now progressed to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

Coinbase’s team told a three-judge panel on Monday that the SEC has failed to provide a path for actors in the digital asset space, despite frequently telling companies to just “come in and register.” 

Read more: Coinbase moves forward with appeal of SEC’s rulemaking petition denial 

“[The SEC] refuses to provide a reasonable explanation for its barebones denial, yet it has wielded its purported authority to engage in an arbitrary enforcement campaign against our industry,” Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, wrote on X following Monday’s hearing. 

The SEC argued that just because Coinbase doesn’t like the rules does not make them above the law, nor is the SEC obligated to create a new framework. 

“Rather than initiate new rulemaking, [SEC] Chair Gensler has repeatedly stated through speeches and testimony that the vast majority of digital tokens are securities, and has asked issuers and exchanges that offer, sell, and trade them to come in and register,” Grewal wrote in the 2022 petition

Read more: Disappointed but not surprised: Industry reacts to SEC’s Coinbase denial 

The petition was denied because existing laws and regulations already apply to digital assets, Chair Gary Gensler said in December 2023. 

Monday’s oral arguments come as Coinbase and the SEC continue a separate legal battle. The regulator in June 2023 sued Coinbase for allegedly operating as an unregistered broker, exchange and clearing agency. 

The SEC claimed 13 cryptocurrencies available on Coinbase are securities: SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, SAND, AXS, CHZ, FLOW, ICP, NEAR, VGX, DASH and NEXO. The case is now in discovery.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (11).png

Research

Union’s technical design brings measured improvements to crosschain interoperability. By combining a consensus-verified hub with novel constructs like state lenses and ZK proofs for client updates, Union achieves an interoperability protocol that is highly performant, trust-minimized, and scalable.

article-image

“Diverse opportunities emerge alongside macroeconomic tailwinds,” zondacrypto CEO says

article-image

Commerce plans transparent, tamper‑resistant data distribution via blockchain for economic metrics

by Blockworks /
article-image

It’s unclear whether the celeb ever knew about the account made using his name

article-image

Sharps Technology raised $400 million in PIPE offering

article-image

Offchain Labs’ Tandem will work exclusively with Succinct on a zkVM

article-image

Fundstrat’s chief investment officer may be the apex bull