The SEC has not had a great track record in court cases against crypto firms in the last few months. And another important case is playing out right now in a New York federal courtroom.
Back in June of last year the SEC sued Coinbase arguing that it was operating illegally and that it should register as an exchange and be overseen by the SEC.
In comments yesterday, the presiding Federal judge in the case questioned the SEC that their argument is too broad and would sweep in collectibles and commodities as having to treat them as securities.
This gets to the heart of the legal disputes over whether or not cryptocurrencies are securities. Coinbase argues most are commodities, the SEC argues most are securities.
Without any action from Congress (unlikely in an election year) the outcome of this case will in large part determine the legal standing for cryptocurrencies in the short and medium term.
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